


Misadventures of the World Tournament

by sushiisaurus



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Adventure, Developing Relationship, Drama, Eventual Romance, Everyone Has Issues, F/M, M/M, No Smut, POV First Person, POV Multiple, POV Pokemon, Pikachu is a little shit, Pokemon Battles, Pokemon World Tournament (Pokemon Black 2 & White 2), Romance, Secrets, blastoise is the mom friend we all need, blue is done, charizard takes no shit, espeon is feisty, ethan is not, hilbert is confused, hilda has a temper, lance is protective of them, mew is espeon's crazy best friend, mewtwo is emo, more tags to be added later, nate is doing his best, red is quiet, rosa is a sweetheart, snorlax is hungry, uroborusshipping, venusaur is the mediator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 102,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25565959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushiisaurus/pseuds/sushiisaurus
Summary: After seven years of traveling together, Pikachu would have thought he would know his trainer by now but when Red accepts an invitation to compete in the Pokemon World Tournament, no one could have expected him to fall for a Unovan trainer that calls herself White. Juggling between clingy friends, keeping Red safe from resurfacing criminal organizations, matches against other powerful trainers, a quirky legendary pokemon, and helping grow his relationship with White, Pikachu has no idea what else will be thrown at them.It's just another day in their hectic lives. He's just happy that the rest of the team is there to back him up.
Relationships: Calme | Calem & Serena, Hibiki | Ethan & Kotone | Lyra & Silver, Hibiki | Ethan & Red, Hibiki | Ethan & Silver, Kyouhei | Nate & Mei | Rosa, Leaf & Ookido Green | Blue Oak, Leaf & Red (Pokemon), N | Natural Harmonia Gropius & Touya | Hilbert, Ookido Green | Blue Oak & Red, Red/Touko | Hilda, Touko | Hilda & Touya | Hilbert
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Manila Folders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Just a few things to note before we get started:
> 
> 1: This fic is strictly game-verse, so no Ash, no Yellow, etc. All main protagonists up to XY are here (although I exempted Crystal for Lyra), some rivals will not appear, and while not all of the game protagonists are a major part of this fic, we will get to see them at least once. That's because I started writing this before SM/USUM and SWSH were a thing so rip me I guess.
> 
> 2: This is told through Red's pokemon's POV. Most chapters are in Pikachu's POV but each pokemon on Red's team will get their own chapters.
> 
> 3: Red's team is based off of GSC and Blue's team is a blend of his team from Yellow and HGSS. All other protagonist teams are based off of both in-game trades (like a togepi egg from Professor Elm from GSC/HGSS) and my own play-thrus of the games. Rivals have their in-game teams. Pokemon can also use more than 4 moves! I like the idea that in a slightly more realistic setting they don't forget their old moves in order to learn a new one.
> 
> 4: Although this fic is mainly Red x Hilda, there are other pairings hidden but I won't list them because I'm evil like that. :)
> 
> 5: _"This is pokemon speech."_ \- "This is human speech." - _This is Red's thoughts as translated by Espeon or other psychic-types._
> 
> And that's it! The fic starts out slow but it'll be worth it, I promise. There are 41 chapters total so settle down and buckle up!

_Pikachu_

When I was a wild pokemon, I could always come to Pallet Town and get any food humans left untouched, play with other pokemon wandering around in Professor Oak's laboratory or if I was in a feisty mood, battle beginning trainers on their way through Route One. After a few months of this, I was caught and my pokeball handed to an adolescent child who knew nothing of the world outside the sleepy town. Years upon years of training on an Arceus-forsaken death trap of a mountain later, I started seeing Pallet Town as home. The food was just a bonus.

I was sitting in the grass on our third day of this particular visit, the late morning sun lighting everything in sight. I was alone for the time being but this was all part of the training: if I could detect Espeon before she pounces, then I get extra treats after lunch. It was difficult to do with all the pollen in the air, spring was notorious for making everyone's allergies act up. I lifted my head to look up at the distant Mount Silver, the peak forever shrouded in clouds and ice.

Despite popular belief that my team were recluses who had a death wish by staying on the mountain, we often left the snow and awful wind to visit my trainer's mother. She was a tiny woman, shorter than her seventeen-year-old son by nearly three inches but she shared the same hair and the same skin tone and had the same kind and calm aura surrounding her. I have never seen another pokemon not like her before, even when she eagerly goes up to wild pokemon, greet them and quickly offer food or whatnot.

She had one pokemon that stayed in the house with her, a Mr. Mime that had been around since my trainer's younger days, possibly before even I hatched from my own egg. While he was kind, he was also strict and would constantly scold us for doing something he didn't approve of (such as our decision to travel up Mount Silver, the whole town could hear him screaming at the top of his lungs to my trainer for being an idiot).

I heard the grass suddenly rustle—it was so subtle I almost missed it. I jumped to all four of my paws and my ears constantly turned when the spot was empty, a few blades of grass lifting themselves back up after being disturbed. I knew she was still somewhere close, maybe even just a mere foot away but before I knew it, my nose tingled and I sneezed for the hundredth time.

All of a sudden, something heavier than me tackled from behind and I yelped (no, it was not a squeak and that was not why a deep, rumbling laugh came from Snorlax somewhere beside us). When Espeon sat on top of me triumphantly, she licked me and successfully disturbed the fur on top of my head. _"Got you again,"_ she taunted and got off before I could shock her.

" _Best three out of four!"_ I shouted as I fixed my fur. I really wanted those poffins after lunch.

She just laughed and shook her head. _"You know poffins are my favorite, too."_

"Lunch time!" a woman's voice shouted, her clear voice echoing into the sky.

Espeon instantly started running towards the white picket fence behind us.

" _Oh, no you don't! I will beat you before you even jump the fence!"_ I was a competitive little pokemon but I was speaking the truth. In terms of speed, I was the fastest in our team, Espeon only came third and I proved that by jumping over the fence before her and stood at the feet of our trainer's mother, smugly looking back at her.

She rolled her eyes at me though once two bowls were placed in front of us, we both started eating the fish the woman had prepared for us two. I had a sneaky feeling it was magikarp from the pink that was barely there anymore; it was easy to come by plus it was cheap in supermarkets.

She then picked up two larger bowls in either hand, one full of greens and another full of little fruits and fish. "Red, honey, this one is for Blastoise and this one is for Venusaur. When you get back, do the dishes. I won't tell you again," the woman scolded.

I started laughing at the misfortune of my human. Red may have been considered the strongest trainer in Kanto and he may have been able to catch all sorts of strong pokemon and even had a second home in the world's most dangerous mountain. He could come off as a cold young man that hated social interactions and had possibly thousands of young kids aspiring to be him but nothing scared him more than his own angry mother, not even that onix on Mount Silver that tried to kill us once. Hell, she scares me sometimes when she gets mad.

Red got up from his seat with a quiet nod and took the bowls from her. I lifted my head to look at the humans and by the look on his face, he hadn't even been paying attention to our training he so dutifully made us do every morning. His crimson eyes were bleary from sleepiness and raven hair was a mess, clear signs he had literally just rolled out of bed even though he'd been up for at least an hour. I rolled my eyes. He and Snorlax had a lot of things common between them so it was a wonder how his mother even managed to wake the teenager up. I went back to my lunch as he approached Blastoise and Venusaur, both bowls in either hand.

Blastoise was tall for his species, standing at Red's height on two legs at five foot seven and was nothing but a motherly water-type who would take care of us if we were sick, hurt, or even depressed. I was grateful for his presence in the wilds, it was often when one or more of us were injured from a battle and were too far away from a pokemon center. He would frequently scold Red about not cleaning up after himself, much like his real mother would.

He was also an amazing battler, equal in both attack and defense, he could deal damage and take hits just as well. However among our teammates, he and Charizard never quite got over their rivalry and constantly had little spats here and there. Deep down, however, he did care for the fire-type just as he cared for everyone else, even if he didn't voice it.

As Red made his way to Venusaur, I sat back on the last stair that led into the yard, rubbing my bloated belly. His mother always gave us extra food, knowing the luxury was always a treat. Staying inside a house was a blessing. Venusaur took the bowl from Red with a single, thick vine and nudged the human towards the house with his large head. The grass-type was older than all of us, but it didn't seem to slow him down in the least. I've heard that a venusaur that living in Viridian forest lived to be a hundred and twenty before old age finally took him! With human care, I was curious how old one could get.

Venusaur was the most level-headed of our odd team and would hardly ever get annoyed or even angry. I've never even seen the large pokemon angry before and I was always scared to see that side of him. Otherwise, he was the one we could go to if we ever had a problem we couldn't work out and ask him for help and advice. He gladly helped anyone who asked him and even seemed to be sincere when answering us.

He always took his time when battling, preferring to set out traps for other pokemon to fall for and then attacking. While I was fast and used multiple attacks at once sometimes, he would usually use one that would deal enough damage to ensure victory. I've heard Snorlax say that Venusaur was our impenetrable shield in battle and I don't disagree with that.

Red was looking around in the sky when I finally sat up from my food coma. Unable to find Charizard in the sky, he rose his left hand and put two fingers in his mouth then whistled loudly before he went inside. Wherever he'd flown to, Red had time to clean the dishes his mother had told him to do and came back out with a red bowl when the fire-type landed, mindful of his fiery tail so it wouldn't burn the grass.

My human patted Charizard's neck after he started to eat and he grumbled low in his throat in thanks. Charizard was extremely quiet for a fire-type and he was so serious, he scared me when he first joined the team as Charmander. I thought he would snap and attack me (he did a few times but quickly learned not to pick on me because I was smaller). He had a temper like most fire-types did but over time he had learned how to control it and not let the little things bother him as much. He could take Red's mind off of whatever was troubling him no matter what it was just by going for a quick ten minute flight.

I've never seen anything faster than Charizard in the sky. Even the pidgeot near Mount Silver that I saw could have just been a baby pidgey when they had battled and Charizard's attacks were nothing to sneeze at, either. If he lit himself on fire and came barreling straight towards you, on the ground or in the air faster than you could blink, you'd run too. Really, it is a terrifying sight. I still shudder when I remember our mock battles.

He then turned his head to look at Snorlax. The lazy pokemon was asleep again in the afternoon sun and his own bowl had mysteriously disappeared. Red rubbed his face with a soft groan once he realized where it had gone and eyed Snorlax with mild annoyance. Luckily, a snorlax's stomach could digest literally anything, so he didn't need to worry about the large pokemon getting sick from eating the bowl. It was awfully inconvenient having to constantly buy the giant bowls at the markets when we were in town. They weren't cheap and no matter how many times he was scolded, natural instincts constantly won him over and he would eat it. At least we didn't need to worry about that up on the mountain, he'd just use his paws and wash them in the snow to get rid of any juices.

Snorlax was a gentle soul when it came down to it. He also knew how to control all his muscles so whenever he wanted to hug us, he wouldn't crush to death us on accident. Once, he nearly broke Red's back right after we caught him and he didn't hug the child for nearly a month after that. At least, not until he won his first battle after many days of training and he'd scooped him up into his huge paws and ten-year-old Red has basically disappeared into his long fur but at least he wasn't crushed this time and laughed it off.

His immense physical strength helped us in battle, surprising multiple opponents since most snorlax were extremely lazy to the point where they'd come out of their pokeball sleeping. Wild ones would just sleep through attacks like it was nothing and continue to block roads trainers were trying to travel through, much like how we'd met ours. On top of his brute strength, he was an amazing strategist as well and whenever we were in a tough bind, he could figure himself a way out. I felt lucky he was with us.

With all of us fed and dishes taken care of, Red stayed outside with us and sat on the stairs on the porch in the backyard. Espeon was napping in his lap, a soft purr emanating from her when he mindlessly stroked her fur as the rest of us did our own thing around the area. It felt better than being cooped up in our pokeballs and Espeon loved the attention she was getting from Red.

She was the youngest in the team and definitely had the hardest time getting up to where she is now, having been a simple pet to a man in Celadon City who told us he was unable to care for her anymore. She grew from being the shy and untrained Eevee we all grew to love despite being weak in battle to an extremely spirited and mischievous psychic who enjoyed playing tricks on us. If she was bored, we had to constantly watch our backs in case she was up to no good.

When she evolved, she had a hard time using her psychic abilities and at night she would cry herself to sleep when she felt she hadn't been able to do anything during the training even after all the praises from the rest of the team. One night we fought each other (it had been a painful night for both of us and Red may or may not have been mad at us for fighting each other outside of training) and she finally realized she certainly was not weak and she could hold her own in any battle. I still can't believe that I had to literally pound that into her head for her to understand. Now she is one of the strongest on the team and her psychic barrages were never held back against any opponent.

As she purred on, I jumped off the stairs and tilted my head at the oran berry bush that sat along in the garden. It had moved ever so slightly, alerting me that something was inside the small bush. We may have been on vacation, but that didn't mean any wild bugs could go into our garden! I jumped inside and a small caterpie cried out in surprise and quickly jumped out and ran away. _"They're not even ripe yet!"_ I shouted after it after catching my breath from laughing.

" _You didn't need to scare it,"_ Blastoise told me as I poked my head out of the bush.

" _It's not like I knew it was there,"_ I answered with a huff.

When the sliding door suddenly opened and a new voice laughed, we both turned once we recognized it. Espeon was annoyed at Red when he suddenly stood without giving her any warning. _"Rude,"_ she mumbled and sat down beside his feet.

Red gave no indication that he'd heard her, simply smiling at the other trainer and returning a fist bump Blue offered. We hadn't seen him in nearly a year and a half but from what I know of via Espeon (the little eavesdropper), the two constantly spoke to each other in forms of little text messages over their old pokegears. I wondered how many of those texts Red would actually reply to.

"You never tell us when you're back in town and I only came because Gramps told me you were here," Blue told Red and reached for something in his jacket. "Plus, something was sent to him for you. I don't know why they couldn't have just sent it here, it's stupid." He handed over a yellow manila envelope.

It was thin and slightly crumpled from being stuffed into the gym leader's pocket though he eyed it suspiciously once he spotted the league's insignia on the front. "What is this?" Red finally asked, frowning at the envelope.

"Open it and find out." Something was strange and I couldn't quite place what was wrong. Blue hadn't stopped grinning like a maniac since he spotted Red and handed him the envelope. If it was from the league, maybe there was another challenger? Was Blue finally challenging him again for the champion title?

Red eyed him carefully when he noticed as well but finally turned the envelope around and tore the seal off. The sudden noise attracted the other's attention and approached the porch steps to peer at us curiously. Red pulled out three sheets of paper, briefly glancing at them before he turned his eyes back to Blue. "What is this?" he repeated.

"Arceus, just read the first fu—ahem, page. The first page." I laughed, knowing he was about to swear before Red's mother had opened the door to set a potted plant outside and glanced them curiously before she went back in. She probably would have kicked Blue out if he had dropped the f-bomb.

My trainer rose a brow at him and Blue just shrugged a tiny bit. Whatever silent communication was going on between them, I didn't understand. Humans are weird.

Finally, he read the first page and as he got near the end, his eyes widened to near comical sizes. He looked up so quickly, I thought his hair would fly off his head.

 _"What the hell are you so excited about?"_ I asked and easily jumped from the porch floor to my trainer's shoulder. I peered at the paper he held and made a complaining sound when he simply put the papers back. _"I was trying to read that!"_

 _"You get onto me about reading his messages on his pokegear, you can't read letters if I can't read texts,"_ Espeon scolded from below and stuck her tongue out at me. I mirrored the pose, barely hearing Blastoise sigh at us.

 _"Do you even know how to read?"_ he asked me.

_"Yes, I know how to read!"_

_"How do you even know how to read?"_ Venusaur asked from somewhere behind me.

_"I just do!"_

"This is real?" Red asked. He sounded too excited for us pokemon to continue our conversation and we all stared at him. He never got this excited about anything unless it had to do something with battles.

Blue snorted. "What kind of dumb question is that? Yeah, it's real. Why do you think it's got that on it?" He pointed to the symbol on the front. He pulled out his own envelope, though his looked like it had something else inside of it judging simply by the thickness. "They sent me the tickets. We leave on Friday, so you better be up before noon and if we're late catching the plane because you decided to sleep in like your lazy ass Snorlax, I will personally come over and beat you."

 _"I'm not even offended,"_ Snorlax piped up through a yawn.

Red wasn't listening to Blue; instead, he pulled up the second page and this time I was able to see the long list of names on it. It was separated by region, though a few of them I'd never heard of before, causing me to tilt my head and ask, _"Hey, Venusaur, where's Unova?"_

Venusaur was resting beside the fence and lifted his head from his paws when he was called. " _Unova? Very far away, an entire ocean separates us and them. Why?"_ came the answer.

"' _Cause that's what the paper says. Unova, Kanto, Kalos… it's listing so many regions. "_

"Who are all of these people?" Red asked out loud, looking bewildered as he pulled the paper out of the envelope completely to read the entire list. I looked at it and Arceus, it was a long one. Just what the hell was going on?

Blue went to his other side to look at the paper. "Other trainers that have earned the Champion title, as well as gym leaders. They had been talking about inviting the Elite Four members as well, but everyone decided it was best they stayed in their regions until the champions and gym leaders came back."

I was lost. I had a feeling in my gut, a familiar feeling when we went up against other gym leaders years ago. I looked at the third page Red pulled out. It was a schedule of some kind, but I didn't bother reading it when he put back into the envelope.

Red was quiet for a bit then turned to see the team surrounding the porch with curiosity. All of us were eyeing the two humans with utmost attention and he gave us a miniscule smile before he turned back to Blue and nodded. "We're in."

Blue's azure eyes lit up and he gave another huge grin but unlike the excitement from before, this one was predatory and challenging. It seemed as though Red wasn't the only one excited about whatever was going on. "You better be outside and ready to go by six am, if I don't see you outside with your stuff, you're going with nothing." He stepped off the porch and landed in the grass. "You better be prepared, Red, you're not the only one who's been training these years!"

He grabbed a pokeball and released Pidgeot. She looked surprised to see us but offered a polite nod as Blue climbed on. Once they took off in a hurry, the rest of us looked at Red expectantly.

" _What's going on?"_ Espeon asked, the gem on her forehead glowing as she transferred her thoughts to him so he would understand.

Red glanced down at her and then looked at the envelope, a smile forming as he turned it around to let the others see the league's Moltres insignia. "A world tournament."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments feed me! Let me know what you think about this fic, it encourages me to write even more with feedback :)
> 
> I am on twitter @sushiisaurus come follow for updates on fics and pictures of my cat!


	2. Welcome to Unova

_Pikachu_

There was no question about my trainers feelings towards his rival. Red and Blue hated each other and it seemed like nothing would ever change that.

Wherever they met, there was _always_ something to argue about—who caught more pokemon, how many trainers they defeated, what they had for lunch, and other stupid shit that was so insignificant in their daily lives, it wouldn't have mattered if they argued or not since they would forget what they even argued about the next day when they fought about something else entirely.

They consistently challenged each other to battles like any rival would and had more than one fist fight us pokemon had to break up before either of them got hurt. Once they fought over a wild growlithe they wanted to catch though Blue sneakily caught it after we had been stopped by a passing trainer looking for a battle and arrogantly made it one of the main battlers on his team just to show off to Red that he was the one who caught it and not him. Their disputes reminded me of Charmander and Squirtle when they first met each other with all the fights they had.

It was only until after the incident at Saffron City they could actually stand to be in each other's presence for more than a few seconds. We had been sitting on the curb of the sidewalk in the middle of the night, trying to process what the hell we'd just been through, and he had come up to us and simply sat down right next to us, looking just as frazzled as us. They didn't say anything at all but I was sure their presences comforted each other, even if it was very slight.

The next time we met was the first time I actually saw the two of them talk civilly to each other without coming close to blows and to say we—as in both teams—were surprised is an understatement.

After the championship match, of course Blue hated Red again for taking his heard-earned champion title and I think Red was more annoyed than angry when the other trainer accused him of always stealing the spotlight from him. They only started to make up with each other until six months later when we were preparing to leave for Mount Silver.

We had been hiding on a rooftop after escaping throngs of over-excited fans who had been waiting for us until we got out of the pokemon center. I was slowly starting to get used to it but Red's anxiety won over and we fled the scene to a nearby rooftop rather quickly. We were startled when Blue greeted us but said nothing else until he sat down beside us. It was tense for a few minutes as we tried to rack our brains for reasons why he was up here on this blistering hot roof since we were waiting for the fans to leave.

Blue was the one who initiated a conversation to fill the awkward and painful silence, refusing to look at us as he spoke. He revealed he was out shopping for a new jacket after Jolteon tore a hole in his and he'd been bombarded by people just after he left the store. He admitted he relished the attention at first and even did an interview for a news station but when they wouldn't let up, he had Pidgeot fly him out and now needed a place to hide for an hour or so.

Eventually, Red also told him what had happened to us and they agreed to put their anger aside to figure out what to do in order to avoid unwelcome crowds that wanted their picture, autographs, interviews or whatever for the future. We left that awkward roof shortly after they exchanged each other's numbers.

As time passed, so did their dislike for each other. They began talking more and more and the first time I saw them smile at each other that didn't hold anger or contempt for the other and one that was actually friendly, I fainted and promptly got laughed at by my teammates.

When Blue became the gym leader of Viridian City, Red even helped him figure out what kind of puzzle he should put in the gym but it was Espeon who gave Blue the brilliant idea of moving tiles. She convinced him he would have the best time watching trainers fall straight on their asses as they tried to navigate the course and he accepted without question. Blue was already laughing about it as Red tried to tell him no, don't do that, moving tiles were a bad idea (but he was trying not to laugh as well) and through tears of laughter, Blue said to him that he would take his opinion on the matter and think about it. He had the moving tiles installed later that same week.

If younger me were to see their relationship today, I probably would have thought it was just a dream. I probably would have had a heart attack when I saw the two give each other their first friendly hug after Blue was officially inaugurated as the eighth gym leader.

Red and Blue were like oil and vinegar; they had their own ways of teaching the teams, their own strategies, likes and dislikes, and they especially had different attitudes and personalities but shake it up a bit and they work wonderful and extraordinary together.

After all, opposites attract.

\---

I was pressing my face against the window in our first-class seats as we flew over open ocean a few days later, my eyes wide with amazement. I had never been in an airplane before and even though I knew we were going to be flying I shouldn't have been so excited since I always went flying with Charizard on a near-daily basis. Maybe it was because we were traveling so far from Kanto and we had never flown so far at once, much less gone to another region other than Johto (which was literally on the other side of Mount Silver) or perhaps it was because it was my first time in an airplane.

My face slowly became squished against the cold window and pulled away to rub my nose. With another glance outside, I realized that I never knew just how enormous the ocean truly was until now. Sure, I'd seen maps and saw bodies of water but I thought nothing of it until now when they, being the captain and the stewardesses, told us we would be flying for seven hours over the ocean to Castelia City, Unova. I had previously thought to myself maybe Charizard could have just flown us but after hearing that and seeing for myself just how vast the ocean is, I highly doubted Charizard would be able to make even a third of this journey without getting exhausted.

I finally turned my head from the window to look up at my trainer when Red shifted in his seat for the millionth time. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was nervous. He was unable to sit still and he hardly even made eye contact with Blue while the low hum of the plane's engines stayed steady as we soared in the sky.

Blue had made fun of him earlier but then told us that he had been nervous for his first airplane ride as well. He also reminded us that his first plane ride had been all the way to Kalos which itself was an eleven hour flight without the layover in Sinnoh and there had been screaming children on the same plane that gave him a migraine.

Red finally relaxed after almost three hours into our long flight and stared outside as well. He had his white earbuds plugged into his pokegear, with his music no doubt blasting in his ears so he couldn't hear the hum of the engine but I knew that wasn't the only reason. It was distracting him from all the eyes of other trainers around us that were staring at us for an uncomfortably long time before they would realize they were gawking and quickly look away to be polite.

I knew they didn't mean to but then they would start to stare again and the process would repeat itself. We were hardly ever in the public, as Red adamantly told us he hated doing interviews and would, to his utmost ability, avoid reporters and cameras. I suppose seeing us in person was a shock.

Eventually, whatever music that was playing in his ears had lulled him to sleep and his grip on his pokegear loosened enough that it nearly fell to the ground. I caught it before the earbuds would rip out of his ears and woke him but I sighed with relief before any of that happened and tucked it safely into his vest pocket, giving a tap with my paw for good measure.

When the other trainers stopped staring at us or fell asleep themselves, Blue went out of his seat to greet another trainer that he apparently recognized as a strong trainer that had gone through his gym recently and accepted a challenge from him for a later date when we would return to Kanto.

Of course, he gloated that he and Red were the better trainers and I laughed when the trainer sheepishly reminded him that he was a gym leader now. The trainer asked about Red and looked at us two alongside Blue. I pointed up to Red's sleeping face and motioned to them that he was fast asleep and made little snoring noises.

I swore I heard Blue say he wanted to take some pictures for blackmail later on but with a few minor sparks from yours truly, he was discouraged from doing so. At least I did my duty and allowed the starstruck trainer to scratch my head a few times before I returned to my seat in Red's lap.

It was pretty quiet the entire flight and I knew I had fallen asleep since I woke up to someone gently patted my head. I made a whining sound and even considered going back to sleep when I heard Blue's amazed, "Wow, that place is bigger than Lumiose City!"

That sounded so un-Blue like, I had to open my eyes to see what he was so astounded by. I lifted my head and uncurled from my tight ball in my trainer's lap and saw that he was also staring outside into the afternoon city skyline. Whatever city this was, it was huge and all of the buildings were nearly twice as tall as the Silph Co. building in Saffron City with huge glass windows reflecting the sun away from us.

Suddenly a voice overhead us said, _"We are currently making our descent into Castelia City, we ask you to begin placing your items back into your bags and putting them in the overhead storage compartments or underneath your seats."_

Neither of the boys were paying attention to the voice as they stared at the city far below us as we made our way inland. One of the stewardesses had to come over and remind them that they needed to sit down and buckle in and they both obeyed right after she gave them the stink eye for not listening earlier.

I was grateful when we finally landed and I quickly learned that being stuck inside a giant metal tube thousands of feet in the air was stuffy and uncomfortable. There was no room for anyone to really run around and stretch, children in the economy class were extremely loud and someone had something to complain about, even Red and Blue.

Once we were off of the plane, I took a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. Unova air smelled completely different than Kanto and didn't have that calm aura our homes did.

Red and Blue stopped at a small restaurant in the airport for lunch and all three of us devoured our meals in a few minutes. I hadn't realized I'd been so hungry, but when they avoided the gates that led outside, they simply went to another part of the airport despite my shouting at them, trying to tell them that the gate was the other way.

I felt devastated when we were simply getting onto another plane. It was a small one, probably fit thirty or so people and surprisingly, it was just us and a couple other tired passengers so it gave me space to run around for forty minutes or so. I was giddy since it was finally our last plane and there weren't any kids on it however, there was turbulence halfway that made me squeak and instantly I ran back to Red, who smiled and gave me a pat of encouragement to keep me calm.

I decided that I never want to go in another airplane even if my life depended on it.

I yawned when the plane finally landed, suddenly feeling terribly exhausted. I even thought about having Red put me into my pokeball as he carried me in his arms but with one look up at his face, I saw that I wasn't the only one affected by the jet lag with dark circles under his eyes and tried to stifle his own yawn. Blue wasn't much better beside us, groaning with relief when we got off of the plane.

We had to wait until everyone else was off for security reasons, as the captain told us, but the passing people wished us all good luck in the tournament and a few even said they would be rooting for Red and I to win while a couple others wanted Blue to win, including the trainer that had been on the other plane.

After they left, both Red and Blue shot a challenging glare at each other and I sighed at the two. Wishing either of them luck when they were in each other's presence woke up their 'rival side,' as Espeon liked to call it. They would have battled then and there if they could have had it not been for a stewardess informing us that it was safe for us to get off.

"I really hope I get the chance to finally kick your ass," Blue said right after we got off the plane and walked through the enclosed gray hall.

Red rose a brow.

" _You wouldn't stand a chance against us!"_ I declared, language barriers be damned.

We were stopped halfway through the strange hallway by security _again_ _—_ I was starting to get annoyed with this airport business. Blue seemed to have expected it and slung the backpack he had been carrying over his shoulder.

The security guard motioned behind himself towards a set of doors. "Once you exit the PBB, follow the yellow markers to the front door and look for Wesley," the burly man informed us. "Older man, has a ridiculous tailcoat on all the time. He'll take you two to the Driftveil Chateau Hotel where you will be staying at for the next two months."

I went still. Exactly how long did he say we would be staying here? I shot a glare at Red that my trainer ignored. He failed to notify us that we would be in this foreign region for so long. Two whole months away from our mountain home?

Then horrifying thoughts struck me such as: _how am I going to survive this tournament so far away from home? When we get back, Red will find out how many berries we've picked and hidden as treats for ourselves! They'll be rotting in our cave and we're going to get into_ _so_ _much trouble!_ And then a ghastlier thought hit me. _Or worse, what if another pokemon manages to sneak in and eat all of our hard-picked berries? I know that stupid Sneasel is going to eat them! Damn her!_

As these thoughts rapidly ran through my brain, I barely realized that we were already walking to the door. The guard followed us and placed his hand on the door handle and said before he opened it, "There's a whole lot of people out there that want to see you two. Just follow the marked path and you can meet Westley without any trouble. Good luck in the tournament!"

\---

Westley was a butler of many talents—or so he claimed—and he worked for the Driftveil Chateau Hotel, which was apparently one of the best five-star hotels in the world. He also added that usually he wouldn't even come out himself to greet guests however it had been a personal request from 'the most extraordinary and astounding' Professor Oak that he could do it.

I didn't know if he was being sarcastic or not since all he talked about for a few minutes after was how he had other work to do back at the hotel. Red and Blue didn't interrupt him, too tired to complain.

It was almost an hour's drive from the airport that was located just north of the city and he told us that Driftveil City had grown exponentially since the pokemon world tournament began a few years ago. I was amazed at the city. It had looked so small from the sky, but now that we were on the ground and driving around, the area looked incredibly modern and it was clean, quite unlike Saffron City which was old and more than a few buildings needed to be remodeled.

The car we were riding in finally came up to a white gate that automatically opened up when we pulled in close to it. As we drove through and got closer to the front doors, I was in awe at the sheer size and elegance.

 _Is this really a hotel?_ I thought, gaping at the white building in front of us. The large hotel lived up to its chateau name, the yard itself looked like a king's courtyard, complete with hedges trimmed in various different pokemon shapes, a large fountain in the center and two smaller ones at the edge of the yard. After we got out of the car, I noticed a stone brick path led from the glass front doors, through the gardens and towards another side of the fence that led out to the city.

 _"Oh wow…"_ I said to myself. I'd never seen anything like this before and with one glance, I could see Red and Blue gaping at the sight, also amazed.

Westley seemed to be amused at their awe and walked to the doors as a bellboy went to the trunk to unload their suitcases. He stepped aside as the doors opened automatically and said clearly, "Welcome to Unova!"

If this was how people welcomed foreigners to Unova, or even other regions, then I certainly wasn't complaining. I could get used to this.

After we stepped inside, I realized that it was just as clean and the elegance never left: a bit of red carpet served as a road for guests leading up to stairs that curved outwards from a fountain that had three carved faces of pokemon I didn't recognize spouting water from the mouths. There was a chandelier hanging directly above us, shimmering as Westley lead us through the chateau towards a pair of silver metal doors next to the reception's desk.

The butler pressed a button after we all stepped inside the elevator, a bellboy came in with our things on a tall rolling cart. As the doors closed, Westley said, "You will each have separate suites and while your pokemon are more than welcome to remain outside of their pokeballs, we ask that you please stay with them. Pokemon have been known to wander off and cause problems among other guests and staff."

Red pointedly looked at me and I couldn't help but to snicker for a few moments. There was one time when we first started our journey and it was just myself, Squirtle and Ivysaur when Red stayed at a pokemon center, he let us loose to have some fun and it ended up with Red doing lots of apologizing and brutal training within the hour. Good times, good times.

The elevator doors suddenly dinged and opened as we reached the fifteenth floor. The carpet was the same dark red as the first floor and the ceiling was slightly curved in like an egg, though the top was flattened so it could hang a lamp between every door. We walked all the way down the bright hall near the stairs was when Westley finally stopped at a door and pulled out two card keys from his tailcoat's pocket and gave one to each trainer.

"One of you may take this room," he said. "The other room is right across from us." He motioned with a hand to the door straight across ours. "I was also informed to give you both these. They are the passes you will need to enter the stadium for the meeting tomorrow morning." He pulled out two laminated cards with barcodes on the bottom and their trainer pictures stamped on them, then bowed politely. "I wish you both luck in your matches." With that, the bellboy handed our suitcases to us and turned around and headed back to the elevator with Westley.

Red glanced at Blue as he yawned. "I'm going to take a nap. See you later, Red," he mumbled as he went to the door right across the hall.

I rolled my eyes at him. He was the one who called us lazy just the other day for enjoying sleeping in and he was the one who wanted to nap. Red approached the other door and slid the key inside until the light turned green and he opened it. We stood there frozen in the door for a solid ten seconds before we finally walked inside, gawking at the sheer size of the room.

The room felt larger than Red's childhood home, so much so that there enough room for all six of us to move around freely, even Snorlax wouldn't have any trouble waving his arms around. The suite came with a living room that had a tan three-cushion couch with matching loveseats a few inches away from it and all three were facing a glass topped coffee table with a wooden shelf beneath it full of magazines.

The couch also faced a decently sized fireplace with light granite in front and around it and above that was a large flat-screen television that I was sure would be used when we weren't training. To our right directly after entering and closing the door to the room, a small dining room sat beside a full-size kitchen with a small round wooden table large enough to fit four people sat in the middle of the dining room with another vase of yellow flowers on top.

There were two separate doors leading to closed-off rooms and by the time we finally made it inside and closed the doors, I noticed the glass wall behind the couches that started from the edge of the kitchen and turned the corner towards the wall. There was a sliding glass door that led to an outdoor balcony beside the couches with a couple of gray rattan bar chairs and tiny table between them. At least there were red-orange curtains we could close to block any light that would pour in. Red opened the door to the left that revealed the bedroom, a surprisingly simple king-size bed with white sheets on a brown four poster bed with the headboard solid up to the top of the posters, connecting the two rear and open poles. The bed itself faced the glass wall, showing off the beautiful city scenery.

There were two separate mahogany doors in the room that caught my curiosity and by the time Red opened one door, it left us both to gape once again at the bathtub large enough to swim in, a double sink and a shower beside the tub. Even the toilet looked like it would be the most comfortable one Red would ever use. The other door had a walk-in closet with a dark cushioned bench in the middle of it and a mirror on the other side.

My trainer suddenly took his hat off and ran a hand through his dark hair, something I've noticed he does when he's in disbelief. All of this? Just for us? It did feel a tad overwhelming, and with so much extravagant furniture and details in each piece scattered all over the room, I was afraid to touch anything.

He looked at me after looking around at our new home for a couple months and I grinned. Despite my own disbelief, I could get used to it. This kind of thing probably wouldn't happen to us again, after all. After he set his bags down, he took out the other five pokeballs and released them one by one, allowing them to explore our new home as he went into the closet, where he opened his simple suitcase to put his things away.

Espeon was sniffing the bed before she cautiously jumped on it. _"This place is fancy,"_ she said simply after she sat down.

 _"Is this how all champions are treated here?"_ Venusaur asked, moving towards the nearest window to soak up the sunlight pouring into the room.

 _"You should've seen the entourage in the airport!"_ I said excitedly. _"Like, all of Unova came to see us and say hi! There were a lot of cameras too, so I think we'll be on the news again."_

 _"I'm not surprised,"_ Blastoise replied, opening the empty cupboards in the kitchen curiously.

Snorlax was carefully making his way behind the couch, where the space was the largest and sat down with a loud, "Laaax…" He stretched as he spread out. _"This place is amazing, I can stretch and nothing will fall down,"_ he told us.

Charizard didn't say anything, but I saw him exploring the entire room as well, finding a pamphlet for room service and tossed it onto the table. I knew we would probably use that later.

A loud, shrill ringing noise coming from the closet caught my attention and I poked my head in as Red sat on his knees in front of his open suitcase and dug out his ringing pokegear from his pocket. "Hi," he said simply, his low voice echoing between the walls. He was quiet for a few moments, and I could hear another person speaking on the other side and easily recognized his mother's voice. "No, unpacking… Yes… Yes… Maybe later… Dunno."

 _"Does he not know how to speak in full sentences anymore?"_ Blastoise said with a roll of his eyes from the kitchen.

 _"It's his mom. She's probably asking him how the flight went,"_ I told him, jumping up onto the table with a single leap. I wanted to have a look at that pamphlet for myself.

"Long. It would've been easier to fly with Charizard."

I wanted to laugh as Charizard rolled his eyes at our trainer. Even he knew he wouldn't be able to fly over an entire ocean.

Red sat on the couch for a few silent moments before he sighed in annoyance. "I know, I will. No, we won't this time… _Yes,_ Mom, I promise."

I couldn't hold back anymore laughter, whatever they were talking about, it was highly likely that his mother was getting onto him about doing his laundry or something along those lines. She did complain about the lack of clothes he'd packed for our trip before we left. "Okay, I love you too." He hung up with an exasperated sigh. When he saw our amused expressions, he simply rolled his eyes and went back to the closet to finish putting his things away.

It wasn't long before we took a nap, the jetlag had affected us more than we thought and I wasn't surprised to see that Red had fallen asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillows. An amazing talent itself, really. I sometimes wish I could do the same thing. It took me hours to get comfortable most times but I was tired enough to do the same.

By the time I woke up, the sun starting to set and Blastoise had entered the bedroom and seemed happy that I was awake. _"Good, you're up. It's getting late and we need to adjust our sleep schedule,"_ he told me as I yawned.

 _"Yes, Mom,"_ I said and laughed as he glowered at me.

He then turned to the lump of blankets that no doubt held Red inside. He pulled the covers down a little to reveal his sleeping face and he winced as the sunlight hit him directly. He turned around to avoid the light and Blastoise sighed when the covers were pulled up and over his face one more time.

It was extremely difficult to get our trainer up when he was this tired, we would have better luck waking Snorlax up from a deep sleep at this point.

Blastoise turned to Espeon next. _"You know what to do,"_ he told her.

The lavender pokemon grinned mischievously at the request and I immediately felt sorry for our human when she pounced on the lump of blankets that was Red. He coughed as she jumped onto his chest with a quiet, "Oof!"

 _"Get up, lazy,"_ she said, the gem glowing.

_I am up._

Red's thoughts used to come to us as a shock, we hadn't started hearing them until Eevee evolved into Espeon and it used to tire our psychic so much she almost fainted the first time she tried. Now full conversations came easily to her and it was more often in battle that the two would communicate telepathically rather than Red directing her with his hand movements.

The lump in the sheets moved, successfully pushing her off and he yawned and rubbed his bleary eyes to glance outside towards the setting sun. _Eat… then training… sleep?_ His stray thoughts came to us unintentionally as he finally got to his feet and headed for the restroom with a hand running through his hair.

I glanced at Espeon as the gem stopped glowing. _"I hate night training,"_ she mumbled, mostly to herself.

 _"That's just because I always beat you at any night training,"_ I taunted and smugly grinned at her when she narrowed her eyes. She knew it was true, while she excelled during the day, night time was not her strong point.

 _"Please don't start arguing again, I don't think I can take it today,"_ Blastoise said with a sigh.

 _"You're one to talk,"_ Charizard mumbled under his breath. The water-type turned to face him from beside him, his stubby arms crossed across his chest.

 _"Oh, here we go,"_ Snorlax said with a roll of his eyes.

As Blastoise opened his mouth to no doubt snap something right back at our favorite moody fire-type, Venusaur cut in with, _"It would be best to follow your own advice, Blastoise, no matter who starts anything."_

Blastoise huffed and glared at Charizard for good measure and I sighed at the starter pokemon. At least their love-hate relationship didn't matter when they were in battle. In double battles, the two felt like they were unbeatable and nothing could stand in their way. Socially, however, even Snorlax would be able to speak to others easier and not scare off any trainer or pokemon that wanted to talk to us.

Red came out with a washed face and we all looked towards the door when there was a loud couple of knocks on the door. He glanced at Espeon, who simply tilted her head and then nodded at him once. Times like this I wish I knew what they were saying to each other, I wanted to know who was behind the door, before everyone else as well.

He opened the door without looking through the peephole on the door and Blue stepped in before it closed in his face. The dark circles that had been under his own eyes after we had landed were gone and he smelled like shampoo that made my nose wrinkle from the strong scent. I doubted either of them could smell it as well as I could, the lucky bastards. "Red, you're coming with me," he declared.

Red tilted his head a little in confusion as he pulled his shoes on.

"You know where. You promised to come with me on the plane and I'm so hungry, I can eat an entire miltank by myself."

My trainer smirked with amusement and nodded. He turned, recalled the team and pulled his vest on as he walked outside. After making sure he had the room key with him, he closed the door to the extravagant room and followed his rival to the elevator, who kept talking about how amazing the hotel was.

When we were outside and wandering around, I was surprised how many people were still outside as the sun barely peaked over the horizon. Perhaps it was because of the impending tournament that would start soon or maybe it was just tourist season, but when we crossed the street, it seemed like night time was when everyone came outside. People and pokemon crowded the parking lot that was used as a makeshift marketplace and there was no doubt in my mind that this parking lot would be full of cars by the time the tournament started.

Luckily, people and pokemon didn't look twice at us when we went in search of a food stall that the two could agree on. We finally stopped at the food courts then after a quick game of rock, paper, scissors and Blue was grinning when he won the game and led the way to the ramen stand that had a long line, but at least it moved quickly. Red even gave me a piece of meat after I was done eating my own bowl, happy the stall also sold pokemon-sized meals.

We explored well after the sun set but we climbed over a slightly steep hill and all three of us were staring at the stadium that was bright and extremely loud cheering was coming from it once we reached the top. The parking lot surrounding the stadium was full and Blue smirked. "They're finishing a different tournament tonight," he told us. "Trainers that have at least eight badges could compete against each other and the winner gets a whole lot of money, top trainer status and top three even get a free trip to Alola for two weeks."

I had no idea where Alola was, but Red seemed to be impressed.

"Don't forget about tomorrow. Meeting is at nine."

Red sighed. It was his way of telling Blue that he knew about whatever meeting and there was.

Blue suddenly grinned. "If we get matched up against each other, expect to finally lose. I'll prove to everyone that even you can lose a match!"

Red smirked, his way of challenging him to try.

He turned around with a backwards wave and walked away, no doubt going back for our hotel home.

We face the stadium again once he'd disappeared into the crowds of the market. I looked up at my trainer curiously from my spot at his feet. He seemed to be pretty confident and I smiled when I saw his crimson eyes full of determination.

Our reputation as the undefeated champion was at stake and I felt more than ready to face whatever challenges this tournament would throw at us.


	3. The Twins

_Pikachu_

When morning came and the sun hit me directly in my eyes, I uncurled myself from my comfortable, warm position and looked up and around, blinking the sleep out of my eyes. For a moment, I wondered where we were. Why weren't we in our room back in Pallet Town? Then I remembered the extremely long plane ride we took to get to a hotel room as big as the house and relaxed to stretch.

The others were just starting to wake up as well while Red remained fast asleep, the suffocating blanket wrapped tightly around him. There was a lock of his raven hair sticking out from underneath and even though it was difficult to see, I made sure he was still breathing fine. I stole a glance at the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table and saw that it read 6:22 A.M. It was still early and knowing that Red wouldn't get up for at least an hour or so, I yawned and let him be.

I jumped off of the bed with ease, stretching each leg on my way towards the open door that led into the living room. Espeon was cleaning herself on one of the loveseats while Snorlax was uncharacteristically wide awake already and he had found some of the pokemon food stashed in the kitchen and was currently helping himself to breakfast. Venusaur's flower on his back was wide open, absorbing all of the sun's nutrients and made no move to wake anyone else up.

Charizard was curled up in the corner between Red's bedroom door and the wall, both of his eyes closed but I knew he was awake. Blastoise was messing with the television remote, flipping through the channels until he was satisfied with a cooking show and sat down on the floor in front of the couch, gently pushing the coffee table back so he wouldn't hit it. _"Good morning, Pikachu,"_ Espeon said with a smile.

_"Why is everyone up so early?"_ I asked, jumping up onto the other loveseat.

She shrugged, going back to her morning bath. _"I always get up this early."_

_"I got hungry,"_ Snorlax admitted, stuffing a handful of pokemon food into his mouth.

_"You're always hungry,"_ I told him.

_"You know that's not all for you, right?"_ Blastoise scolded.

Snorlax was about to reach into the bag for another pawful of food when he paused and turned to Blastoise with a pout on his face. _"You said you weren't hungry!"_

Blastoise returned his pout with a scowl. _"Not yet, I'm not! Put it back, the rest of us need breakfast too!"_

With slight hesitation and a sigh, Snorlax begrudgingly set the large bag of food back into the cabinet where he'd found it.

_"Why do you even like that stuff? It's not even that good,"_ Espeon told him.

_"I mean, I like it,"_ Blastoise admitted.

_"It's not bad, although I, too, prefer berries over processed food,"_ Venusaur said.

_"Junk food tastes good,"_ I said with a nod.

Charizard just snorted. I couldn't tell if he agreed or not.

Espeon rolled her eyes at us and then sat up. _"I for one enjoy the finer things in life. Poffins are delicious, so are pokepuffs—"_

_"Both are junk food, too,"_ I pointed out. _"But keep going, I'm listening."_

She pointed to the cupboard with a paw. _"But it's better than that!"_

_"I agree but we're also talking meals not snacks."_

_"We get it, Espeon, now shush so I can listen to the show,"_ Blastoise interrupted us.

We sat there for an hour, watching and fighting over what show to watch next until hunger finally began to gnaw at my own stomach. Impatience was beginning to creep into me and I wanted to jump into the cabinet with the food stashed away and help myself just as Snorlax had however it vanished for a few moments when I heard a knock on the door.

I turned my head towards it in time to hear Blue's exasperated voice say, "Go away, Ethan! Just because you beat me in a gym match _once_ does not mean we are rivals!"

"I never said we were rivals!" answered a new voice, and I could hear Espeon groan immediately. "I only said I need you to be in tip-top shape so that when I beat you in the tournament, it'll give me that much more of an advantage over Red! Besides, he's my rival, not you!"

I heard a loud noise of objection come from the bedroom beside the living room we were all in. Glancing towards it, I could see Red open his eyes barely enough to look at the alarm clock and narrow his eyes dangerously at it. There were a few things that Red didn't enjoy, and that was being woken up before his alarm, even if it was only fourteen minutes early.

As the two voices bickered some more behind the door, Red got up and suddenly passed by the couch, an annoyed look set on his face as he approached the door. A quick look at the oven time told me it was exactly 7:46 A.M., a time that Red was never known to be up for. Fourteen minutes of lost sleep was still fourteen minutes he could have stayed in bed for and he would make sure the two people at the door would know about it.

He opened the door without a word but a single glare that looked like it could kill anything.

While Blue was immune to his death glares, the shorter boy beside him looked intimidated almost immediately. He tried not to let it bother him and grinned up at him. "Good morning, Red!" Ethan said as cheerfully as he could.

They promptly let themselves in and I could hear Red sigh then watched him run a hand over his face as he closed the door, already done with them.

Ethan was shorter than Blue and Red by a good few inches, but since he was three years younger than them, it was to be expected. His golden eyes landed on me and he smiled wide, too happy this early in the morning by anyone's standards. "Hi, Pikachu! Me 'n Ty are ready for a rematch!" he declared suddenly, pointing a finger directly at me.

Before I could even think to shock him, Blue huffed. "A rematch? Wait in line, I'm first for any kind of rematch!"

Ethan pulled his hand back as if he could sense an impending Thundershock for sticking his finger in my face. "You live in the same region as he does! I bet you guys always battle!"

Blue glanced at Red with a slight shrug, but my trainer didn't seem to care, more annoyed than anything. "Well, not often. But we haven't had a legitimate battle for a very long time, though! At least not in front of thousands of people and judges!"

Ethan huffed at him. "We haven't battled in ages! I've only fought him three times! _Three!_ " He held up a hand with three fingers as if to make sure we all knew what the number three was. "And those were all on a stupid mountain! During blizzards!"

Blue rolled his eyes. "Your fault plus you lost all three, short stuff."

"Hey! I'm not short!" He tried to go on his toes to prove a point, but failing when he nearly tripped over himself. "I almost won once!"

"Still three losses."

By then, Red had gotten bowls out to feed us and after making sure we all had food despite giving Snorlax a knowing look, who returned the look with a sheepish smile. He then disappeared into the bedroom to get ready, realizing he wouldn't get anymore sleep with the bickering that was going on between the other two boys.

I looked up from my meal at the two visitors when Red's door closed and the unmistakable sound of the shower turned on. Ethan was three years younger than Red and Blue and he was a few inches shorter but apart from that, he was an incredible trainer even to my standards. It wasn't often another trainer could get us to a single pokemon left and nearly erase our spotless and undefeated record.

We met Ethan for the first time in a pokemon center near Cerulean City after we had been recently crowned champions. At the time, we were going after Zapdos, who had been extremely elusive and we were overjoyed and overwhelmed with relief when we found out he had a nest at the power plant. All we wanted to do was complete the pokedex and he was one of the last few entries we hadn't completed so naturally he didn't make it easy for us.

On those missions, as Espeon liked to call them, we often used the centers that weren't busy to rent a room for a night or two if the media didn't catch wind of us. At one of these stops, we met Ethan, who was traveling to Cerulean to fight Misty for her badge. He hadn't known Red was the champion so he treated him like any other kid staying the night at a pokemon center. It was honestly a relief to be treated like a normal person for the first time in a long while.

We parted ways the following morning with the promise of a battle in the future.

We didn't have that battle until after we had made our way up to Mount Silver, where we often stayed for weeks on end. The look on Ethan's face when he finally arrived, I dare say, was priceless. With eyes as wide as saucers, he'd stuttered something along the lines of, "I knew it! I knew you were the kid who beat Team Rocket! I knew you were the champion! You're that kid from Route 9, aren't you?!" Promptly after that, we battled.

The outcome was a close call, I had fainted after Typhlosion collapsed (although it still counted as a win since Snorlax and Blastoise were still up and able to battle). Next thing I knew, we were in the pokemon center in Viridian City and Ethan was arguing with Blue just like he had when he and Blue came to the hotel door.

With the rest of my team in their pokeballs, Red showered and both of us flopped on the couch, we stared off into space as we waited for their petty argument to stop.

Ethan suddenly spun to Red, who blinked when he pointed a finger into his face but it was instantly replaced with one of his famous death glares. "Red! Even though Johto is going against Kanto, I'll team up with you and beat Blue for you so that we can have a re-match!" he declared.

"Hey! I just said I challenged him first and you can't take that challenge away!" Blue retorted.

Ethan spun on his heel to face him so fast, I was anticipating him to fall. Instead, he took a single step forward and jabbed his thumb into his own chest. "Pretty sure I'm the better trainer here, seniority rules!"

"I don't think you know what 'seniority' means," Blue drawled, unimpressed.

"Yeah, well, I don't think you know that I'm a better trainer than you! You can go wait with your fancy, spiky head of hair of yours somewhere else!"

"Fancy, spiky head of hair? What kind of insult is that?"

Fifteen minutes of straight arguing was starting to get on my nerves even more than before, and when Red glanced at me with a single nod, I was all too happy to oblige with the silent command. With a weak Thundershock, I shouted at them, _"Shut up! I swear the next person who starts to argue will get paralyzed!"_

The other two boys yelped, more startled than anything as they spun towards us with looks of betrayal. "Hey! That was uncalled for!" Ethan said. "Even Ampharos doesn't electrocute me!"

Blue got over the shock faster than he did, glancing at him. "Ethan, why don't you go hang out with Lance or whatever, I saw him last night on my way back here," he told him. "Or even your gym leaders, I know they're around here somewhere."

Ethan groaned and rolled his eyes. "But they're so boring!"

"So?"

_"Oh, Arceus, enough already!"_ I whined and looked to Red, who sighed when he also realized the two of them wouldn't stop.

Ethan continued as if Blue hadn't said anything. "Morty was pretending to curse the plane to scare Jasmine the entire time!" He suddenly flexed his arms. "Chuck was all, 'hey look at these awesome muscles!'" I couldn't help but think, _You have none, Ethan._ "Clair was doom and gloom the entire time 'cause Lance is here and they had some fight again or something! Then Whitney was going on and on about her freaking Miltank and Bugsy was trying to convince Falkner that he was actually a boy and not a girl even though he already knows this and Pryce was just being creepy and chilling in the back of the plane! Literally just freezing the seats for fun!"

I could only stare at him by the time he finished his rant. How in the world did he manage to say all of that in just a few short breaths? Of course, he spoke so fast I was convinced he didn't even stop to take a breath that entire time.

"Well that's your fault for traveling with your gym leaders," Blue answered after a brief moment of silence, save for a few heavy breaths from Ethan.

The younger trainer paused and looked up at him. "Wait, did you two come by yourselves?"

He rubbed his nose with a smug grin as he gloated, "We even got _first class_ tickets."

He gaped at him with his mouth wide open in incredulity. "What!? That is so not fair!"

I jumped onto Red's shoulder as he stood up and headed for the door. He briefly paused to make sure he had the room key and stadium pass on him and pulled his hat on as he opened the door.

"Right, we should get going if we want to be on time for the meeting," Blue said with a nod.

"Wait, what about breakfast?" Ethan asked, jogging after us.

"Go have breakfast, then, I already ate and Red hardly ever eats breakfast."

Red gave a nod of confirmation.

"Well, that isn't healthy, Red. My mom says breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"

So does Red's mother, but does he listen? No, my good friend, he does not.

Instead of stopping at the cafeteria that was just as extravagant, if not even more so than our own rooms, we headed outside and started to make our thirty or so minute walk to the stadium. We hadn't explored the city yesterday—we didn't even do the night training Espeon detested in favor of catching up on sleep. Seeing everything in the day was completely different than at night. I could see all of the strings where the lights had been hung everywhere while food and souvenir stalls were even busier and the cheers coming from the stadium were louder.

I was honestly surprised no one recognized us and let us walk around freely. If this were in Viridian City, we wouldn't have been able to take a step out of Blue's gym before we would be bombarded. We all wanted to stop and look around but when Blue mentioned that the Director of the tournament was hosting this meeting was a stickler for timeliness, we decided it best to look around after it would be over. I could only assume he knew the Director through his grandfather.

When we got close to the stadium gates, a blue pokemon in white karate gi and a security guard immediately recognized us and led us away from the front doors and to another set of doors for us to scan our passes and enter the stadium. He seemed to be too awe-struck to say anything else but, "Take the stairs all the way to the top and the meeting room is on the third door to the right." They both smiled at us before closing the doors to the brightly lit hallway.

Ethan seemed to be a ball of boundless energy, easily clearing the stairs in a few short minutes while Blue and Red lagged slightly behind. I kept my seat on Red's shoulder, trying not to laugh as Red's face fell at the sight of more stairs. _"We live on a steep, rocky mountain. How are just a few stairs so scary?"_ I teased, knowing full well he couldn't understand me.

Eventually we all made it to the very top and Ethan had stopped to wait for us, staring outside. He turned when he saw us and grinned. "Took you long enough, you slowpokes!" he said. He laughed as Blue scowled and then turned back to the window. "Look! They're battling down there!"

Red and I went to the window while Blue seemed uninterested, wandering to find the door we were supposed to go for. Way down below, easily a few stories below, a battle raged on as a blond boy sent out a rapidash against an arbok. While I wanted to see what would happen as the two battled, Red turned around and went to follow Blue into room. There were four long steps in the middle while seats stretched out across the room and I felt like we were going into a classroom despite the muffled cheers outside the door and hall.

There were a lot of people inside already and I instantly recognized Lance, red hair, cape and all and he sat beside a blond woman, the two of them chatting away while a girl in a white hat sat next to her, staring down at something around her wrist and swiping through different screens. Blue was sitting in a chair off towards the back and not feeling comfortable enough to sit next to anyone else, Red wandered to sit next to him.

Ethan had come in and his eyes lit up the instant he saw everyone and ran down the steps to greet Lance. "That lady is Cynthia, she won last year's tournament," Blue said to us suddenly. "Said to be the strongest trainer around, but that's before I got invited to this year's tournament." I followed his eyes towards the blond woman next to Lance. Something about her made me feel like she could easily give us a challenge just like Ethan could.

Speaking of which, he suddenly came back to us and sat on the right side of Red and I. "Weren't you just with Lance?" Blue asked with a scowl.

The youngest shrugged as he answered, "Yeah, but he's also boring and is super mature so all he talks about are boring topics. Besides, I get to sit back here with you guys!"

"Wonderful."

I looked around at everyone in the room. It felt different than being in a room of other trainers, the various champions came in all ages and sizes and it felt like everyone here was strong and powerful in their own way. I was _so ready_ to begin our tournament right here and now, but it seemed as though that wouldn't happen just yet.

I stretched out across Red's lap as an old and slightly larger man dressed in a navy blue business suit descended the stairs. Once he reached the podium at the bottom of the stairs, he turned around and smiled from behind a bushy white mustache. "Good morning, champions!" he greeted.

There were a few murmured responses, however a couple of the younger trainers cheerfully answered a quick, "Good morning!" while others, such as my own trainer, stayed silent.

It didn't seem to bother the man in the least bit, who clapped his hands together once. "I won't waste any of your time, since all of you are probably extremely busy but to start things off, I want to wish all of those who are not from around here a fond welcome to Unova! Currently, we are hosting the Trainer's Circuit Semi-Finals today, while the finals will be held tomorrow. There is a final prize of fifty thousand pokedollars—" I already knew that was a lot of money and even Blue seemed to be impressed, letting out a soft whistle. "—and whoever wins the final match will claim that prize plus an _unofficial_ match between any champion of their choice that will be held Friday afternoon, so you must all be ready to be picked at a moment's notice!"

He took a remote out from his jacket pocket and clicked a button, allowing a screen to slowly drop from behind him. "This is our schedule starting on Friday. Friday morning, the champion introductions to the public will occur and at the end, the winner of the Trainer's Circuit will choose the champion of their choice to battle against at three in the afternoon. On Monday starting at ten A.M., six weeks of non-stop battles begin! The gym leaders will be competing against each other for top Gym Leader status in the Gym Leader Circuit. We have already randomly selected which regions will go first."

He clicked another button and I could feel Red already growing bored as he scratched my head. Not that I minded, all this talk of battles we weren't going to be in was boring.

"Each region will be competing against each own first and will take three rounds, or three days. The final round—or the third day will also be the next region's first round and so on. Randomly selected, Hoenn is first, followed by Kalos, Kanto, Sinnoh, Unova and last but not least, Johto. Week four will be three days of all region winners competing against each other for the most points, the rules can be explained later if you wish." He smiled at everyone again. "But you guys need to know your schedules, and that's why you're all here."

He clicked another button and I watched the screen change to a completely different schedule. "We realize champion battles may last more than hour now, as proved by the match between Champion Cynthia and Champion Lance last year." He motioned towards the two named with his free hand. "When we get closer to the day, I will call for a short meeting the day before the competition starts and you will all find out who you are up against."

I could tell Red was tuning him out completely when he started to massage my cheeks and I melted right into it. It felt really good, and by the time he started playing with my ears, both of us glowered at Blue when he suddenly jabbed him hard in the side with his elbow. "Pay attention, Red!" he hissed quietly into his ear.

Red said nothing but gave me an apologetic look before pretending to be interested in the talking man. While they listened, I took a look around at the other trainers. I had no clue who most of them were, like a boy with a red visor on was beside a girl with extremely long pigtails, and a young man with silver hair that had his full attention on the one talking. There was one other trainer, however, that sat next to the boy with the black hat that looked just as equally bored as my trainer. She seemed like she was struggling not to fall asleep but the boy next to her, who looked eerily similar to her when I looked closer, was just like Blue and nudged her to keep her awake and pay attention.

When I looked away, the man in the front was finally done speaking, glancing around the room to see some of the other trainers starting to stare off into space. "Remember: if you want to watch the matches, you are free to use any of the viewing boxes on the second floor. I won't bore you anymore, have fun!"

"Thank Arceus we're free," Ethan instantly said and shot to his feet. "Well, that was boring, anyway the most important thing now is lunch." He glanced towards Blue and Red. "So, what are you two up to? We should all go together and find an awesome burger joint."

Red's stomach instantly agreed, making Blue laugh as Red pointedly looked away from them.

Blue tapped his chin. "That actually doesn't sound bad. You want to go, Red?" My trainer nodded once and my stomach also confirmed it. Even though I'd already had breakfast, listening to an old guy talk for two hours made me hungry. "Now the hard part is where to find one. I've only eaten at the hotel."

Ethan shrugged. "We just have to explore and see what this city has to offer. Maybe we can ask someone who's been here before where a good place is."

"You guys are looking for somewhere to eat?" asked a new voice and we all turned.

The older champion was standing at the stair next to our row, red and orange hair tied loosely to keep out of his face. "My name's Alder, I'm one of Unova's former champions." He jabbed a thumb behind him towards a group of trainers Red's age heading up the stairs and out the door. "I know just the place! In fact, some of us are going there now, care to join us?" he asked cheerfully. "It isn't too far from here and they're fairly priced."

Ethan beamed immediately as he nodded and said, "Then be our guest and lead the way!"

I rolled my eyes as Ethan bounced up to walk next to Alder, acting like he'd never been fed before. As Alder laughed, I knew they would get along just fine. Ethan was a social butterfree, it didn't surprise me that he could make friends so easily.

Alder led the way, chatting merrily away with Ethan, who asked a million and a half questions to the patient veteran trainer while Blue followed silently with Red and I. In a stark contrast to the youngest of our trio, Alder thought about each answer, careful with his words but enthusiastic about everything that he spoke of. It made me realize that he, just like a great deal of trainers including my own, cared a lot about us pokemon.

As we neared the central city, we passed by a long strip of various different restaurants; the hundreds of different smells—good and bad—hit me at once and my mouth drooled as distinct barbeque smell filled the air. Unova food smelled so good!

Alder kept walking as Ethan looked around with the curiosity of a Meowth and Blue had to keep him from running into a wall and Red yanked him closer to avoid falling into a ditch, though the third time it actually did happen and Blue laughed at the trainer as his face smashed into a metal light pole. I laughed hard enough to hold my sides and even Red smiled at Ethan's whining.

We eventually came upon a small place called Striaton Delights, and a strange dog pokemon barked in greeting. _"Welcome back, Alder!"_ he said cheerfully, his tail wagging as Alder bent down to scratch his head.

"Well, hello, Herdier! Where are Cilan, Cress and Chili?"

Herdier barked once, leading the way inside. Alder walked inside while the rest of us followed eagerly towards the scent of the barbequing ribs. The inside was fancy, not as fancy as our hotel, but the modern hanging lights illuminated the many tables and benches. "Alder! Long time, no see!" A man with bright, flaming red hair approached him and smiled in greeting, shaking hands with the champion. "The others are already here. Right in the back," he said and glanced at the rest of us. "My name is Chili. I'm one of the gym leaders in Striaton City."

Blue looked confused. "One of them?" Ethan asked for us.

Chili nodded. "Yep. Depending on which starter the trainer received from Professor Juniper, they battle myself if they chose Snivy, Cress if they chose Tepig or Cilan if they chose Oshawott."

"That sounds kind of odd. But it sounds like fun," Ethan said and nodded in approval.

"Odd or not, it's how we run our gym. Never got any complaints about it." He winked. "We also have a dine and battle menu as well. Patrons can eat and watch trainers challenge the gym! You should all drop by some day!" That sounded like my kind of thing. Food and battles? Thinking about it though, Snorlax would probably just sit off to the side and eat. Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea, after all.

Chili led the way to a table that already held six people, though he had no problems dragging another beside them. "Alder and three others have come to join you," he told them bluntly and they all looked up, smiling at Alder but looked with confusion at us.

To be honest, it was quite nice to see that these trainers had no idea who we were.

Alder sat down and Ethan sat beside him though Red and I sat at the end of the table, ensuring we didn't have to sit next to anyone we didn't know. "Hi! My name's Rosa!" the girl with the overly large pigtails exclaimed. "This is my brother, Nate!"

The boy with the messy hair and visor waved with a smile, his other hand holding a cup of soda.

"My name is Hilbert, but I go by Black," said the black-hat boy. I wondered if that was why he was called Black.

"My real name is Hilda. Hate that name, so call me White instead," said the ponyta-tail girl. She looked at us with mild curiosity, but she smiled anyway. "Your pikachu is so cute."

I puffed out my chest. _"Damn straight I am,"_ I told her. Despite the language barrier, it made a couple others laugh and Red patted my head to get me to sit back down.

The girl with darker skin and extremely thick, long hair at the other end of the table shot a hand up. "And last but not least, it's me! I'm Iris, dragon master in training!" she declared. "All of us are from Unova, and now that we've introduced ourselves, what are your names and where are you from?" Oh Arceus, it's a female version of Ethan.

Ethan grinned, instantly excited. "My name's Ethan, I'm from Johto," he replied immediately and his voice full of pride.

"Oh! I've heard of you! You're really powerful, right?" Iris exclaimed. "I want to battle you!"

"Well, I already got a challenger waiting—"

Blue interrupted him with his own greeting, ignoring Ethan's betrayed look. "I'm Blue, and this is Red and I guess you already know Pikachu. Both of us are from Kanto," he said in a matter-of-fact tone and I added a quick, _"Pikachu!"_

"Are you two rivals because these two are mine," Iris said and motioned towards Nate and Rosa while looking between Red and Blue.

"We're rivals now?" Rosa asked curiously and Nate shrugged.

"Well, we fought all the time when we were kids," Blue said as he looked at the menu in front of him. He had explained this to several different people before, so I'm pretty sure he was bored of answering the same question over and over again. "We figured out that hating each other was pretty tiring and got old so we finally decided to grow up a little." He looked up from the menu towards the others and jabbed a thumb in Red's direction, who blinked. "But after this stupid ass went to Mount Silver to train for like seven years, I got pissed at him when he didn't come back down for my birthday after he promised me he would go to the Safari Zone with me to catch a chansey."

I remember that argument. To be honest, we had completely forgotten about it and time on Mount Silver went by so fast, we hardly had any time to ourselves since we were training most of the day.

"Mount Silver? Isn't that the most dangerous mountain in the world?" Alder asked, a flash of concern on his face. I nearly laughed and spotted the smirk Red was hiding behind the menu he was reading. It should be and was definitely still dangerous if we weren't careful, but we learned how to survive in the harsh environment.

Ethan shuddered. "I go up there sometimes to battle him but every time it's hard. I don't know how, but he lives up there with a t-shirt and a vest with sneakers and calls it good," the Johto trainer added.

Red rolled his eyes at all the attention, pointedly trying to keep his eyes on the pictures on the menu. _"That one,"_ I said to alert him and pointed at one of the pictures showing a platter of fried Magikarp, I think. It looked amazing and I was starving. He gave a nod and set me into his lap to put the menu down and scratch my chin. I wasn't sure how, but whenever he did scratch my chin, it just felt amazing. I heard myself let out a soft, _"Chaa…"_

Rosa set her own menu down, having already decided what to get. "Doesn't it get cold on Mount Silver?" she asked and Red nodded once.

"Does it bother you at all?"

Another quick, single nod.

She was quiet for a while and Black asked for her, "Do… do you talk?"

Blue chuckled. "He'll talk if he has something to say, but he gets bored easily," he informed them, pointedly elbowing him again just like he had at the meeting. "Anyway, what about you guys? What's your story?"

"We're two sets of twins," Nate said and grinned as Ethan gaped. "People call us The Four Twins."

"That's so cool," Ethan admitted, earning a laugh from Rosa. "I don't have any siblings. I'm an only kid."

"I mean, we argue all the time," White said with a shrug. "Sometimes he just gets on my nerves."

"Hey!" Black exclaimed.

"What siblings don't?" Blue answered, huffing. "My sister Daisy and I argue all the time."

Just then, a man with green hair came over to us calmly holding a pen and small notepad. "Are we all ready to order?" he asked politely, a green monkey-like pokemon sitting on his shoulder with his own bowtie and apron on.

_"What do you suggest, monkey face?"_ I asked, earning an annoyed look from the green pokemon. I smirked but winced when I felt a sharp pinch on my cheek. Snorlax told me that Red knew when I would cause trouble and was always quick to stop any mischievousness.

I'd reply that he just knows how to ruin my fun.

\---

I never thought I would say it, but I did. I wanted to go train. I wanted to go outside into the wilderness, do a training session so difficult I would tire myself out so much that all I would want to do is sleep by the time we were done.

But no, that isn't what we did for almost two and a half hours.

For two and a half hours, Ethan and Blue had gotten into another argument as Iris, Alder and Nate laughed about it, White rolled her eyes and Rosa tried to stop them from arguing while Red and Black completely ignored them in favor of their food.

When they were finally done, Rosa, Nate and Black left to wander somewhere, both boys looking distraught when she mentioned shopping while Iris and Alder went to go train with White somewhere in the city. Blue and Ethan walked off arguing back towards the hotel and Red let me walk next to him as we wandered around, trying to find someplace quiet in the bustling city.

We walked for a long time before I saw the same fountain we'd passed by before. I glanced up at Red, not surprised. Red got lost easily and when he stopped to look around, I knew that was exactly what had happened.

He scratched his head a little then looked down at me as I shrugged. I had no idea where we were either, and without a map to guide us, I was sure we'd have to get Charizard out to fly us back to the hotel—

"You look a little lost there," a voice said from behind us.

We turned and saw White standing there, smiling as Red shook his head. Leave it to him to be stubborn and refuse to admit that he was lost.

"I know you don't like to talk, but if you want, I can show you where I train," she offered. He frowned a little at her and she turned around instead. "I know that look and walk when someone wants to be alone. Trust me, I can only handle Alder and Iris together for so long. Come on, I'll show you and then I'll leave you alone. Deal?"

She started walking and Red hesitated before glancing at me. I shrugged at him, leaving the choice up to him before he hesitantly followed her through the busy streets of the city. We walked for a good twenty minutes as the traffic slowly grew quieter, the buildings becoming far and few between before White stopped in front of a rocky wall covered in green moss then looked up at Red. "We're almost there. Through here, there is a tunnel leads to the beach and I hardly ever see anyone there, so that's why I come here."

The small crevice in the rocks made it look difficult to squeeze through, but when we saw her go through without any issues, Red followed. Thankfully he was able to pass through, but I heard him grunt softly, the space a little small for him. When we exited the crevice, we followed her through the tunnel that led to a sandy white beach. I grew excited and suddenly wanted to play in the sand instead of train. It wasn't often we got to go to a beach this clean and quiet.

She stopped at the sand, motioning towards the ocean that was close by. "The tide comes up quickly though and it'll fill the tunnel shortly before dinner time so I suggest when it's five or six at the latest, head out. In the morning, the water should be down again and there'll be fresh moss to help you squeeze through if you want to come back."

She gave us another smile. "I'll leave you alone now. If you want to ever train with me and Black, we always battle in the morning!" True to her word, she opened a pokeball to release a strange bird that took her shoulders with a loud, "Mandi!" then flew off.

Red glanced at me as I jumped off of his shoulder and landed in the sand. "Chu! Chu, pika!" I exclaimed. I wanted him to understand that I wanted to play before we trained. He gave a sigh and nodded, grabbing the other five pokeballs and released the others. _"Look! Red said we can play before we train!"_

Charizard snorted at the moist air though Blastoise looked like he would have the time of his life, wading out into the water almost immediately while Snorlax was content to just sit on the beach and let the sun warm his fur. Red sat beside him and watched Espeon run back and forth with the waves like I did as Venusaur opened the flower on his back to absorb the light while standing in shallow water.

Eventually we were all in the water playing and splashing, though Charizard had opted to go flying with Red. I glanced upwards at the sky; I could see the small orange dot in the sky circling the beach and practicing various fire- and flying-type moves.

Noticing that as well, Venusaur got up and waded out of the water. _"We should start our training as well. Red wouldn't be happy if we just played in the water."_

I nodded and followed suit while Blastoise and Snorlax were the last ones to group up with the rest of us. I shook the water out of my fur and yelped when Espeon shook right beside me, gave me a mischievous grin and laughed as she dashed away to avoid my Thundershock.

I could hear Venusaur and Snorlax having a mock battle with each other shortly, though Espeon was doing her best to use her psychic abilities to lift a very large boulder that was stuck in the sand underwater. She gritted her teeth before pushing more and finally there was a _shwoop_ sound as the ocean water quickly filled the empty area and the boulder was lifted out of the water. She then put it on the dry beach, where I charged a Volt Tackle and let it shatter.

We trained for a while until Charizard and Red landed, though just recalled the others and I jumped up onto Charizard's back before we were flying away from the beach. I glanced down, watching the tide rapidly rise just as White had said it would.

Charizard was panting when we reached the hotel, ready for a break. Whatever training he and Red had done, I could tell he was tired since they had been up in the air the entire afternoon. On top of that, Red wasn't as light or short as he used to be when he was ten. He was lucky that Charizard was rather large for his species, six foot five last I heard, and could still carry him for such a long time.

Once Charizard was recalled, we hadn't even reached the doors when Blue was walking out. "Oh, hey, Red. Where were you all day? You smell like salt," he said bluntly as Red nodded. I almost laughed at his suddenly worried face. "At the beach? Isn't it full of people though? Weren't swarmed by paparazzi?"

Red shook his head with a smile, waving as he went inside.

"Whatever," I heard Blue mumble. "By the way, White asked me and Ethan lots of questions about you."

We paused and glanced back at him with a shared confused glance. Why would White be asking questions about Red? I tilted my head, curious. She seemed to be a nice girl, smart enough to know that we had wanted to be alone so why—

I understood the moment Blue said, "I think you caught someone's eye."

My train of thought suddenly froze.

Oh. _Oh no._

Red squinted as he tried to figure out what he meant by that.

"Seriously, Red? You're not that clueless, are you?" He laughed, waving as he walked away towards the gates to go wherever he was headed to and left Red to stare at his back in pure confusion.

There was one thing Blue was wrong about: my trainer was and always has been clueless, especially when it came to emotions.


	4. Machoke Man

_Pikachu_

Red had taken his dinner up to our room from the cafeteria, slowly picking at his food as us pokemon chowed down on our own meals. I watched him from the corner of my eye, noticing how he ignored the television playing in the background and stared out one of the many windows towards the night sky with furrowed brows from time to time.

I was sure he was thinking about Blue and his words, or could it have been White that was on his mind?

I scowled a little at my empty bowl then turned to look back at my trainer. I'd heard human emotions were complicated and after witnessing that for myself many times, I figured it could have been nothing else but that statement.

Blue had told him White was asking questions about him and that could only mean two things: one, she could just be trying to get information about his battling style in case we ever went up against each other. She could be trying to learn our strategies and try to overpower us during the tournament but somehow, I doubted she would be since she didn't seem to be the kind of person who would do something like that.

The second thought was far more complicated: she could have a developing crush on Red.

For some reason it terrified me because why would she, someone we literally just met today, decide she likes him? I thought it took years, or at least a few months—even weeks for feelings to develop between humans.

After watching so many movies with Red and his mother in the living room back home, there would be drama and fights and sometimes heart-breaking endings that changed one or both people for the rest of their lives. I suppose that was what terrified me: I was afraid to see Red like that. Just seeing him sad at any time made me upset as well.

However, it was too early to think of that. It was still extremely early for any kind of romantic feelings or development. I leaned back against one of the loveseats, scratching my chin. If there were indeed feelings growing between the two, I could still squash them before they could even flourish.

I could save Red from a horrible heartbreak! I grinned and laughed to myself, ignoring Blastoise's curious look.

_"What are you laughing about?"_ Espeon asked, suddenly next to me.

Her unexpected appearance made me jump. _"Gah!"_ I yelped.

She laughed instantly, raising a paw to her mouth. _"Did I scare you, Pikachu?"_

_"Yes, you did, you jerk!"_ I snapped and huffed as she snorted. _"What do you want?"_

_"I asked why you're laughing."_

I paused, then glanced at Red. He was focusing on finishing the last bits of his food, too engrossed with eating to notice us together. _"White's asking questions about Red,"_ I answered.

Espeon tilted her head a little and turned her eyes towards Red as well. _"Why? She would only do that if she was interested or wanted to battle right?"_ she asked.

I was relieved that she shared some of the thoughts that I did. _"Blue said she was asking he and Ethan personal questions about him."_

She was quiet for a while then suddenly started to give me a toothy grin.

I stared at her as her tail twitched. That only happened when she grew mischievous and after seeing that sign, even Charizard stiffened a little bit when he noticed. No one was immune to her pranks or plans in this household—we had all been terrorized by her tricks more than once. _"Oh really? What kind of 'personal questions' was she asking?"_

I had to choose my next words carefully, afraid of any kind of sudden mishap she would bestow upon me. _"I don't know. Why are you so excited?"_

I looked at Espeon as she giggled and licked her paw to wash her face. _"Oh, nothing."_ She wrapped her tail around her legs as Red got up from the table, heading for his room to get into the shower, completely oblivious of Espeon's antics.

_"Espeon, please don't do anything dumb, Westley clearly said we weren't supposed to wander around without Red,"_ Blastoise said from the couch, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

_"I'm not going to wander around without him. I'm just… curious about something."_

_"About what?"_ I didn't blame him for his cautious tone, last time she pulled a prank on him, he had been stuck in his shell until Red could get him out.

_"About why White is so interested in Red."_

That caused the other three to turn their heads at us. _"What do you mean?"_ Venusaur asked curiously.

I sighed. I had not wanted to have any kind of conversation like this tonight. _"When we were coming back in, Blue told us that White was asking questions about him and that… that he 'seemed to have caught someone's eye.'"_

Espeon instantly looked up. _"Say that again!"_ she shouted, startling the rest of us.

I looked at the others and they looked as surprised as me. _"I—uh, he caught someone's eye?"_

She was on all four paws by now, full of barely controlled excitement. _"This—this is brilliant!"_

Charizard huffed at her, not in the mood to deal with her sudden enthusiasm. _"Whatever it is, don't do it,"_ he warned.

_"What is brilliant?"_ Snorlax questioned, sitting on the middle of the floor where the most space was.

She looked at all of us, tilting her head. _"Do you guys not know what that means?"_ she asked then sighed at herself when each of us gave her a blank look. _"Ugh, boys. I wish Lapras was here, she would know what that means."_

_"What are you talking about?!"_ I finally demanded.

She jumped up onto the back of the couch, making sure the others could see her clearly. _"In human terms, to catch someone's eye is when someone else is interested in you. If Red caught White's eye, then she is attracted to him!"_ At our collective groan, she huffed. _"Aw, come on, it's not like he likes her back! She was the one asking questions, wasn't she?"_

_"I do not think even us pokemon can 'catch someone's eye' that fast,"_ Venusaur admitted.

_"Ever heard of love at first sight?"_ Espeon smiled as most of us rolled our eyes. _"Hey, maybe it would be good for him to look into the dating scene. It would help him open up to other humans."_

From his corner in the room, Charizard's tail thumped the floor gently. _"There is a perfectly good reason why he doesn't trust other humans,"_ he replied dryly.

Blastoise crossed his stubby arms across each other, his claws tapping his elbow. _"Team Rocket is long gone and she seems to be nice."_ He looked at the rest of us as Charizard gave him a doubting look. _"While we're here, why not make a few friends, if not go out with someone? It won't hurt,"_ he suggested.

I sighed. Blastoise and Espeon both seemed to be on board with this dating idea. They had good points, too. He really did need to open up to others and at least become friends with more people other than Blue and Leaf. He talked a lot around them but he talked the absolute most around his mother and it would be good for him to open up even the slightest bit to have connections with other people.

While their intentions were good, Blastoise and Espeon's suggestion sounded harder than they realized.

However, Charizard also gave a good reason why we shouldn't help Red pursue White. He would never be able to forget what had happened seven years ago at Saffron City. Alongside other events, the trust he had with other humans was so low even I knew he'd avoid making new friends even if his life depended on it.

_"In any case, he's gotten much better about his socialization. So what if they start liking each other? Shouldn't that be a good thing?"_ Venusaur asked curiously.

Espeon nodded, smiling again. _"I say he can start dating if it happens after the tournament. We can't have either of them distracted, I'm sure her own pokemon agree,"_ she replied calmly. _"You guys do too, right?"_

_"You know we can't tell him what to do, right?"_ Snorlax asked. _"It's not up to us what he wants to do and when."_

She rolled her eyes. _"I'm just saying it wouldn't be a good idea to start dating now!"_

While I didn't completely agree, I did know it was a bad idea to have Red even think about dating at a time like this—the tournament was important!

The water stopped running and a few moments later, Red stepped out in clean clothes, tossing the dirty ones to the side of his bed then blinked at us when he noticed us through the door, silently asking what we were all up to as we all stared at him.

Espeon trotted over to him and then gem on her head glowed a bit to communicate our decision. _"We've decided that you're allowed to like White, but you aren't allowed to date her until after the tournament,"_ she informed him and he stared before there were a few scattered nods while I just shrugged.

It was obvious he wasn't expecting to hear that by the way his mouth opened and then closed itself several times, trying to think of what to say. He was silent for a long time and stared at Espeon until he abruptly started to laugh despite the fact his face turned a bright shade of pink, causing confusion among the rest of us.

_"You know what 'catching someone's eye' means, don't you?!"_ I exclaimed, frustrated.

_"I think it's sweet!"_ Espeon exclaimed, twirling around in a happy circle.

Leave it to her to find anything like that sweet and cause our trainer to blush all over again and even make Venusaur chuckle softly by the way he was acting.

Red finally shook his head, his laughter dying down. _Let's not talk about this right now. Mom is going to be here tomorrow afternoon, and I don't need her to act like you,_ he told Espeon and looked directly at her as she snickered. The thought came to us unexpectedly and each of us jumped a little, except Espeon as she transmitted our thoughts to him and his to ours. Our mixed feelings must've hit him, because he looked at us with a somber face, watching each of us with his red eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked out loud.

I stood in front of him on the couch, crossing my arms across my chest. _"You promise not to date?"_ I replied, my ears flat on my head.

He blinked and smiled a bit as he patted my head, purposely messing up my fur that I so diligently had cleaned before dinner. "I intend not to date White or anyone else, if that's what you mean."

_"We believe it best that if you do decide to start dating, then it should be after the tournament,"_ Venusaur said with a shake of his head.

I huffed at him, flattening my fur back down after Red removed his hand. _"Then you can be friends. You're allowed to like her, but not date her until after. Promise?"_

He shrugged indifferently but when he looked around at all of us again and saw us all staring expectantly at him, he sighed. "Fine, fine, I promise. But why—?"

_"I mean, I'm okay with you dating someone!"_ Espeon interrupted cheerfully. _"Your mom wouldn't have any objections! I'm sure she'd be really excited!"_

Snorlax nodded once in agreement. I frowned a little and stole a quick glance at Charizard, who shared the look. Now it seemed only he and I agreed with the no dating situation.

Red rolled his eyes at her, not seeing our look. "You're all acting like Mom now."

_"Well, if we're your mom, then clean up your room before your real mom gets here,"_ Blastoise said sternly, nodding towards the pile of dirty clothes and motioned towards dishes in the sink. Red only shrugged.

I rolled my eyes at him. Blastoise was always a stickler for cleanliness while Red, being a teenaged human boy, didn't really care. A few dishes and clothes on the floor wasn't that big of a deal, and it was always funny to see Blastoise force Red to clean up after himself in the cave we stayed in up on the mountain.

I noticed the gem on Espeon's head still glowing, and heard Red's thoughts once more as he sat down on the couch. _Trainers will be finishing a tournament of their own soon. They're allowed to choose a champion to fight, for no title should they win, but if they pick us, I want you to be ready._ Red looked up at the team seriously and we straightened ourselves.

Immature as we all may be, we knew when to get serious. After all, being serious was our trademark. We had to practice it sometimes.

_There's no telling how strong these trainers are. There could be someone out there stronger than us._

For some reason, I doubted that.

Espeon cut off the connection and glanced at the rest of us. Somewhere deep down, though, I hoped that there really was someone as strong as us down there. But even if they chose another champion to fight—and there was a plethora of them—we would still need to train.

All of these champions had won their title somehow and if battling against them meant a challenge, I was more than willing to train hard for the next month.

\---

Red's mother has always been a kind, gentle soul so when we picked her up later the next day, she was introduced to Ethan on our way into the hotel that evening. Naturally she was all smiles and even offered to make him chocolate chip cookies if he should ever visit Pallet Town again. I was surprised to hear that, I thought they had never met before! Apparently, they had met before while Ethan had been on his journey and Red was naturally annoyed by this. We were both all too happy when the younger wandered off to have dinner with Nate and Rosa while we went to find her room on the third floor.

She chuckled at her son's behavior, noticing the irritated look on his face. "Oh, come on, he isn't a bad kid, Red. The way you treat him, it was like he's your brother!" she said, smiling.

He rolled his eyes again, causing her to erupt in laughter.

She dragged one of her suitcases to her bed, preparing to go for the other one until Red took it for her. Her room wasn't nearly as extravagant as ours, with a single queen-sized bed, a television on the wall with a dresser underneath. She had a much smaller closet than we did and her bathroom was still large compared to the size of the room. It didn't seem to bother her, telling us when we had arrived that she was happy to have a chance to stay at a fancy hotel for free—technically the League was paying for it, but who cared. It was still a very nice room, don't get me wrong, but it made me glad that we got a suite on a much higher floor.

She pointed towards the small table near her mini-kitchen. "Over on the table for that one, honey. Thank you." She opened up the one on her bed, pulling out a shirt to put away. "By the way, how is Blue? Daisy is staying in Pallet Town and says that she will watch the tournament on television when it starts." He grew even quieter than usual all of a sudden and she caught it immediately as her face softened a little. "What's the matter?"

He looked a bit startled and uneasily set the suitcase onto the table like he had been told to. I knew why he was suddenly so nervous, we had only been on television during our fights against the elite four and championship match and we hadn't expected to be on television at all, even though we probably should have.

She chuckled and hung up a blue shirt in the closet. "You didn't think this _gigantic_ event wouldn't be on T.V.? All the champions duking it out against each other? Especially with you in the tournament?" Red rolled his eyes at her as he unlocked the suitcase on the table to help her unpack. "All of Kanto basically has their eyes glued to this event. No one would want to miss it! Besides, the Trainers World Tournament thing has been on T.V. for the past few weeks since the preliminaries! Some of them even reminded me of you when you first started. I remember when Pikachu didn't listen to you at all!"

I nodded to myself. Those were fond memories indeed. Most mornings included me using Thundershock to wake the lazy boy up, or deciding to scratch my ears instead of attacking like he'd wanted. The first time I'd met his mother, I instantly decided I liked her when she bothered him about taking a bath and changing his underwear.

It was also the first time I'd ever heard him speak so freely, arguing _verbally_ with someone over something so small and giving genuine smiles to other humans. This time was no different, though he didn't start speaking until we were clear in her hotel room. As Red helped her unpack, I sat on her bed, poking my head into the suitcase she was trying to work on. What? I was curious to see what she brought, but she chuckled good-naturedly as she pushed me out. "Please don't, Pikachu, I don't need fur everywhere."

I huffed. _"Espeon sheds more than me!"_ I tried telling her but sat back anyway.

When she watched Red's face suddenly turn pink as he opened her suitcase then look at her, she laughed again. Instantly he closed the case and casually, she asked, "What? A lady needs to have some form of support—"

"Mom," Red simply interrupted, giving her a hard, albeit embarrassed, look.

"Stop being a big baby and just give that to me then if you're too scared to look at Mom's underwear."

She suddenly grinned again he picked up the case to give to her and I knew it was story time as she flashed a mischievous look towards her son. Despite Red being taller than his mother, one could easily tell they were related, if not by their appearance, but by the way they had that same smile whenever they were up to no good.

As she took the suitcase from him to put her undergarments into a drawer herself she said, "I remember when you were maybe three- or four-years-old, you went through my entire dresser drawer and put a one of my bras on your head, had your underpants outside your jeans, then tied your blankie around your neck and called yourself 'Machoke Man.'"

He looked mortified instantly, shaking his head as if he'd heard the story before. "Mom!"

She didn't stop there, all too happy to embarrass her son. "You would run around the house for hours, pretending you could fly and do all sorts of things! Then you would try to get into my make-up, saying that superheroes needed masks to hide their identities. Your favorite line was, _'Evil-doers look out! Machoke Man is here!'_ It never rhymed, but you didn't care. You were so young, so full of energy."

Agitated, Red's face was turning a dark shade of his namesake as he said sharply, "Mom! Stop it!"

I was laughing so hard, I doubled over trying to hold my sides. I'd have to tell the others later tonight about what he had done when he was younger, I was sure they would appreciate an embarrassing story of our trainer. I hoped his mother had other stories to tell, this one was remarkable. Hearing bits and pieces of Red's past was rare, we only got to hear about it from either Blue or Red's mother since he never really talked about it. Espeon asked him once, though he claimed it was boring and simple. Boring and simple as it may be, everyone had their childhood adventures that needed to be told by mom on occasion.

She smiled and closed the drawer when she finished putting her clothes away with a long, drawn-out sigh. I stopped laughing, confused at her sudden mood change and as she sat down on the bed, I hopped up beside her, sniffing her arm in curiosity. She looked solemn in her thoughts and I could see her age suddenly beginning to show on her face as she looked at Red. _"What's wrong?"_ I wondered out loud. She scratched my head, subconsciously like Red did.

Red was also concerned, a questioning look coming to his face when he too sensed she was bothered by something.

"You aren't so young and naïve now. It makes me sad that I can't protect you anymore."

"You make good meals, does that count?" Red asked and sat down next to her.

"Shush, your mother is talking."

He only grinned at her, then slowly lost it as she turned her head to look out the window.

"I am very proud of you though. All that you've accomplished is indeed a large feat at such a young age. You were barely ten when you took down that awful, _awful_ Team Rocket." She paused, watching gentle white clouds roll by the setting sun. "I never thought my own child would become the champion, much less take down a criminal organization. To be honest, I didn't think you could do it at first." Honestly, she wouldn't have been the first to doubt us. Even Professor Oak had his uncertainties. "When I heard of you fighting Team Rocket at Celadon City, then Saffron… I was so worried about you. That is something no one, especially a child, should have endured in the first place."

He hesitated, looking at me and then back to his mother. He was quiet for a while as he thought of what to say next then asked, "If you had the power to do something to help others, wouldn't you do that something?"

She glanced at him. "I suppose I would," she answered as she looked back out the window again.

He took a breath, looking outside as well while I climbed into his lap. With his right hand, he started to pet me and I gave a soft, almost purring just like Espeon as he scratched my cheeks gently. They were silent for a long time before he finally said, "Over the course of our journey, we saw things we shouldn't have seen and did things we shouldn't have done. I was scared a few times, and other times I thought I would really die."

She sharply turned her head away from the window to look up at him. I believed this was the first time he'd admitted anything we had been through to her. A flash of concern swept over her own face and she took his left hand and squeezed it slightly in worry but didn't say anything to interrupt him.

His face was set into a determined line and shook his head. "But if we had done absolutely _nothing_ against Team Rocket, then I would carry that regret for the rest of my life." He looked back at her smiled. "I wouldn't trade anything in the world to change the past. It brought me and my pokemon closer together and that is well worth all the sacrifices we made."

She smiled softly and held a proud look on her face. "I guess you are right. A mother always worries for her child, you know." She chuckled quietly to herself, shaking her head. "You are very wise for your age, Red. It's like you're a worn-out old man stuck in a spry teenager's body." He flashed a playful glare and she hugged him and he immediately hugged her back. "I love you, Red, and I am proud to call you my son, even if you had done nothing."

\---

Eventually we left her so she could catch up on sleep and met up with Blue downstairs in the cafeteria for dinner. I wondered why they chose to come here instead of using the complimentary room service that all of the rooms offered. I guessed that maybe they just enjoyed having fresh food right away. I shrugged to myself. I was sure we'd try out the room service eventually.

While we were getting food, I noticed Ethan piling his own plate full of food and his ever-loyal companion, Typhlosion, following suit. Red rose a brow slightly at the comedic pile and I wanted to know how he was going to eat all of it.

Blue snorted. "Got enough food there, Ethan?" he asked, taking a drink with another hand to head to an empty table.

Ethan looked up, not expecting us and blinked with a little confusion. "What? I'm hungry!" he objected.

I rolled my eyes but when I glanced at Red's plate and saw a similar amount, I just sighed. Teenagers really did eat a lot.

Ethan followed us to Blue's table, about ready to dig in instantly. "Oh, man, Silver and Lyra are _so_ missing out!" he said as he eagerly went towards them.

I tilted my head. _"Are they not here?"_ I asked curiously.

Typhlosion shook his head as he sat down as well with his own plate of pokemon friendly food piled just as high as Ethan's. _"Nope,"_ he answered. _"We were surprised because they cancelled at the last minute."_

Red gave Blue an inquisitive look. I'm sure they were both just as curious as me, maybe even disappointed that two other trainers weren't here. I had hoped to against Meganium or even Feraligatr, as annoying and arrogant as the water-type was. They were both tough to battle in their own right, and Lyra had even gotten us down to three pokemon before, quickly learning more and more about pokemon training in the many times we have battled each other—Ethan didn't need to know that we battled her far more often than him. In fact, we battled often enough we could clearly see her learning and adapting her own strategies rapidly, so much that we should probably start getting worried about going against her again alongside Ethan, who was undoubtedly stronger than the last time we had met on the snowy summit.

The others didn't seem to notice my internal thoughts, their silverware clinking against their plates. "Wait, they aren't here? Why not?" Blue asked, cutting into his chicken. I could see he shared the same disappointment as I did. He claimed he didn't like the other trainers that much, but I knew how much he loved to battle strong opponents.

"Well, Silver didn't want to compete 'cause he's lame and Lyra's mom is in the hospital, so she had to skip out to help take care of her."

Silver I completely understood. That kid was an odd cookie, but it was too bad about Lyra. I actually felt sorry for her, knowing how close she was with her family. _"What happened to her mom?"_ I asked.

Typhlosion shrugged as he chewed and answered, _"Dunno. Lyra just said she was in the hospital and didn't say anything else. She called us the night before we left and when I heard her, she was trying not to cry so it must be bad."_

I frowned a little, glancing towards Red. As far as I knew, it was just he and his mother and if something were to ever happen to her, I knew he would be distraught as well. _"I hope she gets better soon, then,"_ I answered.

_"I think Lyra would appreciate that."_ He smiled at me.

"Got room for one more?" asked a new voice, one I didn't immediately recognize until I glanced back and my heart dropped slightly.

White sat down in the last chair between Typhlosion and Blue, eagerly digging in.

"Hey, White!" Ethan said cheerfully. I tilted my head slightly as she returned the greeting. Since when had they become so familiar with each other?

Red was quiet, keenly focused on his meal. From the corner of my eye, I saw Blue smirk slightly, but said nothing to him as he also greeted her.

"You guys ready for tomorrow?" she asked, grinning. "I honestly hope I'm chosen to battle. Me and Serperior are ready to take on someone strong!"

"Who says they're going to pick you? What if they pick me?" Black asked from the tables of food, grinning as she scowled immediately.

"No one asked you! Go away!" she retorted.

Her brother laughed and put some food in a to-go box, most likely heading up to his room to eat there.

As I munched on a berry, I wondered why a fancy hotel like this even had a catering service when they already had room service. They didn't seem to be well-equipped for it to be honest, most of the tables that held the food were fold-out tables that were covered in plain white tablecloths. It wouldn't surprise me if Professor Oak or Lance had set this up for everyone, there were a lot of champions that were surprisingly young.

"I'm sorry about him, he doesn't know when not to butt in," White said to us when Black closed his box and leaned back in her chair with a piece of bread in her hand.

"Be careful with her, she's a hot head," he told us as he walked by the table, quickly running away towards the elevator to avoid a punch from his sister.

Blue set his fork down, full and seemed to be amused while watching the interaction. "A hot head, huh?" he asked.

"Oh, shut up," White grumbled as she tore into her bread.

He shrugged and I looked at Ethan when he said, "I want to go train somewhere but trying to find somewhere quiet around here is really hard."

White looked between us. "Well, I could take you to the beach I showed Red," she offered. "It's really quiet and secluded."

Blue glanced at Red. "That's the same beach you came back smelling like saltwater, isn't it?"

Red ignored him as White chuckled and added, "We can all go train there if you want after the 'champion introductions to the public.'" She raised her free hand to make quotation signs.

"I think that's a good idea," Ethan said immediately.

"And we'll drag Red along, too," Blue added.

My trainer suddenly looked up and shot him a slight glare that he ignored and Ethan laughed about.

"What? Training by yourself can only go so far." Blue shrugged nonchalantly. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. We were doing just fine training by ourselves for seven years, what makes this suddenly so different?

As we all finished our dinner, I sat in Red's lap now eating a slice of apple slowly and stared at White as she laughed with Ethan and Blue. She really was nice and talked a lot about her friends back home that were supposedly coming to watch the tournament.

When I glanced up at Red, I noticed him stealing glances at White and at first, I thought he was just sizing her up as an opponent. He had this calculating look in his eyes when going against other trainers but it wasn't that look nor was it the wary face he gave strangers when they approached us. He wasn't as stiff as a brick when someone was too close into his personal bubble, either.

All of those looks seemed different than the ones he was giving White. The look he had now was calm, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking and I scowled to myself. Surely, he wasn't interested in her, right? Maybe he really did want to know more about her and become friends. I pushed down thoughts in the back in my head that told me that it was something more and something that I should be worried about.

I felt Red begin to stand and I immediately jumped onto the floor to walk behind him towards the elevators. The others went with us and as we waited for the elevator, I heard the front doors open to the hotel and heard Alder laughing about something but I didn't care that much since I was paying close attention to Red and White's interactions, as little and awkward as they may be. Thankfully, Alder and the silver-haired man he was with went somewhere else with a passing greeting as they walked past us all.

When the elevator doors opened, we all stepped inside and Red immediately punched the number _15._ I watched as White and Ethan both pressed different numbers, laughing about how we were all on separate floors, except for Blue and Red. Ethan was out on the eleventh floor, grinning as he exited the elevator.

I was surprised when Blue also stepped out and even Ethan glanced at him with a confused face. "What're you doing, Blue? I know you aren't on this floor!" he told the taller trainer.

"I know, but Lance is and he wanted to see me before I went back to my room," he answered simply then looked back at White and Red. "You guys have fun. We'll see you tomorrow." He walked away and Ethan seemed confused still even as he glanced at the closing doors with a shrug towards us.

I felt Red's nervousness immediately rise the moment we were heading up to the thirteenth floor. I could see that White was slightly anxious as well, keeping her eyes pinned on the numbers above the door. We all stood there in awkward silence that seemed to stretch on for hours until the elevator doors dinged and then opened up, where she immediately dashed out. "Uh, good night," she told us quickly and then turned, looking like she wanted to sprint to her room.

As the doors closed, I felt Red relax instantly. I looked up at him from my spot on the floor, tilting my head slightly. He just shook his head, quietly telling me not to worry about it. Neither of us were expecting the elevator to suddenly stop at the fourteenth floor. Red looked at the panel full of numbers and saw that the number fifteen was still lit up, meaning that Blue had indeed hit the right number.

The door opened and the tall, looming figure that appeared in front of us seemed just as surprised as us when we saw each other. However, this was no kind or friendly person we were used to and I jumped to all four of my paws with my cheeks sparking madly. Red was stiff as all nervousness and relief went away, promptly replaced with anger.

Giovanni stood there in all his glory, his hair slicked back just like he always had it, his dark tailored pants and matching jacket fitting him perfectly, sans the giant red R on his chest. He glared down at us in the way he used to all those years ago and emitted that dangerous aura that made me want to just Iron Tail his face.

When he got over his own shock, a rigid frown formed on his face and he curtly said, "Hello, Red."


	5. A Public Introduction

_Pikachu_

Saffron City had been held hostage at one point in time during our journey through Kanto, specifically the Silph Co. building located near the center of the large city. It served as a place of business and research for the most successful company in the entire region—they were the ones responsible for the creation of pokeballs and selling them to the general public so trainers like Red could compete in battles, contests or whatever else they desired.

One of these new pokeballs they were trying to create was so powerful, it was said to catch _any_ pokemon of _any_ kind. Naturally, that attracted Team Rocket so much that they went out of their way to invade the building and hold employees and random citizens off the street that had gotten too close to the building hostage. They wanted not only the one master ball they had already created, but the plans so they could make as many as they wanted. When the company refused, that's when no one was able to get in or out of Saffron.

Somehow, we had been able to bribe one of the guards to get in and when we discovered just how many Rocket grunts were patrolling the streets, we knew we needed to do something. When we discovered all about the Silph Co. situation, Red and I jumped into action.

Blue, however, demanded a battle before we could even think about getting into the building. After a bit of arguing, he finally agreed to a one-on-one that we easily won. We ignored his yelling as we ran inside.

We ran through the building as quick as we could at night to attract the least amount of attention and learned that their boss, Giovanni, was holding the president hostage at the top floor in his office. We practically ran the entire time, freeing trapped pokemon and humans along the way but one of the floors in particular just felt so empty, devoid of any kind of movement. It had sent chills down my spine and I had to stay close to Red to convince myself that we were all right.

When most of the employees had been set free, we found out the scientists were kept on that floor to try and replicate the plans they had never seen. However, we had stumbled upon a dark room that made Red gag instantly from the rancid smell and awful sight. I had never seen death before—nothing like that before.

There were bodies thrown haphazardly into the back corner of the room—both human _and_ pokemon—and each of them had various wounds that made us assume that they had been mauled by a large and powerful pokemon to death. It didn't look like any of them had painless deaths.

It made me realize why Red's mother had been so scared for us every time we fought against Team Rocket, she understood what it meant to fight criminals like this.

In all our lives, neither of us would have expected to see a room full of bloodied bodies lying on the floor of an office building like dirty dish rags. After Red had composed himself, I'd never seen him in such a rage before, his knuckles were turning white he was squeezing his fists so tightly and he bared his teeth at the scene like a caged ursaring.

If he had been angry before, that was like a dream full of lollipops and fluffy, cute pokemon. Usually he was so good at hiding his emotions, even with his own pokemon, but I felt his fury rub off on me as I sprinted after Red, using Thunderbolt on every pokemon and grunt we caught sight of, knocking them out instantly.

When we had finally reached the office at the top of the building, Giovanni was sitting in a large executive chair with a glass of red wine in his hand and the president of Silph Co. nowhere to be seen. It was like he felt he owned the placed and anything that was happening on the lower floors was none of his concern.

I let out my most ferocious growl I could muster as the man smiled at our arrival as if he had already won. My growl only caused the boss member to laugh and set his glass down. He even had the nerve to offer Red some wine before he took a pokeball into his hands.

The young trainer pointed a finger, commanding a Thunder, intending to take him down in one hit. My attack diverted into a Rhyhorn's horn and from there, a battle started.

It was a near-loss on both sides eventually, his ground-type pokemon had taken out most of Red's pokemon, though Blastoise was still standing up against Nidoking, who was panting of exhaustion. Blastoise was likewise tired, but he wasn't about to show it to our trainer nor Giovanni and the opposing Nidoking. "Fine," Giovanni had said and rose a hand. "Nidoking, use Hyper Beam! Destroy this place!"

Red immediately returned the tired Blastoise then threw himself over me—my pokeball had been lost somewhere during the fight. The following blast sent both of us flying into a wall and crashed to the floor as the ceiling above caved in. I heard Red grunt in pain from the impact until a sound so loud came from the blast, it deafened all of us. My ears were ringing by the time I got the rest of my senses together and after the dust had settled, I got up quickly but Red was taking longer to push debris off of him and looked like he wanted to pass out as I helped him. Thankfully, he stayed awake when he sat up and glared at a helicopter that no doubt held Giovanni flying away.

Just as sirens started to fill the air and flashing lights filled our vision, Red gritted his teeth angrily then picked me up with arm, the other one hanging limply beside him as he stumbled for the door. We were both injured, exhausted and angry, but we made our way out without any other issues.

Blue had finally decided join us on that fateful curb a few minutes later and when Red nearly passed out when he tried to stand up, he helped Red get back up, after calling him an idiot of course, and went towards the paramedics frantically working in the front of the building, where we received instant medical treatment.

It was the only time I admitted to myself that I really did hate someone and when we finally defeated him in the gym, he disappeared. I was happy to hear he had been arrested not too long afterwards and I was delighted that we wouldn't see him ever again.

\---

Giovanni seemed no different to me than before. He still had a set and strong jaw, not a gray hair to be seen on his head and he even had his shoes polished. I wondered if those were the same shoes he had when we fought each other the final time. Although the heels on the shoes were small, he still towered over us at six feet or over yet he made no move to fight back as Red suddenly ran at him.

He had barreled past me right after the man had greeted us and took a handful of his white button-up shirt and roughly shoved him into the wall and pinned him there. "What are _you_ doing here?!" he snapped, not even bothering to hide his own hatred.

He frowned at Red and grabbed his wrist to pry him off. "Lance didn't tell you? Or did you not read the letter that was sent to everyone?" he asked scathingly. I hissed some more at the tone, which he ignored.

I jumped out of the elevator as the doors closed themselves, staying as close to Red as I could.

He managed to finally push Red away when he saw that his answer didn't satisfy either of us. "I am just a competitor in the gym leader circuit of the tournament."

Red clearly didn't believe him, going as far as scoffing at him. "How many people are you going to kill to win it?"

Giovanni brushed imaginary dust off of his jack and then straightened his shirt. "No one. Is that so hard to believe?"

After all the things he'd done, I would say it was extremely difficult. Red narrowed his eyes with ire at the ex-mob boss.

The man sighed, almost irritated that we were even there. "If you have an issue with it, take it up with the League. They are the ones that tracked me down and gave me an invitation, I've been out on parole for a few months now." He rose a brow at our shocked faces.

How in the _hell_ did someone like him get a chance at parole?!

After a moment, he turned towards the elevator panel beside the closed metal doors. "I wonder what else Lance hasn't told you."

My ears flicked a little. What did he mean by that?

My cheeks sparked again as Giovanni pressed the button for the elevator to come back up. "I would refrain from attacking a defenseless competitor, Red," he said, somehow noticing the snap Red was about to command. He entered the elevator and turned around his dark eyes back on us. "That would most certainly get you disqualified from the tournament."

Red frowned and glanced at me. He was right and hesitantly, the sparks faded but I didn't move from my spot between the two of them until Giovanni pressed a button and the elevator doors closed.

I was frozen in my spot until I couldn't hear the elevator anymore, making sure he was truly gone until I saw Red turn towards the stairs to go up a floor. I glanced at him inquisitively, smartly remaining quiet when I saw the glare still on his face and followed him. Normally I wouldn't condone his behavior, but we weren't expecting run into a mass murderer at a hotel far from home so I couldn't really blame him.

We made our way back to the room in no time and quickly Red opened the door and closed it behind us, ensuring it was locked. I felt worried about him as I watched him quietly move around the room until he disappeared into his bedroom and closed the door behind him. I wanted to go in with him but he seemed like he wanted to be alone, so I left him be.

Luckily, he left his jacket, hat and belt hanging over a dining room chair so I was able to release the rest of our team. Charizard was the first to notice how quiet I was and briefly glanced towards the closed bedroom door.

 _"What happened?"_ Blastoise finally asked and immediately, the others quieted down, looking to me for an answer.

I glanced between them. Espeon seemed concerned and Snorlax had his full attention on me while Venusaur was frowning and his face told me he was worried as well. My hesitation tipped them off that something was wrong—I wasn't exactly known to be quiet for very long, after all. Charizard's narrowed eyes made me nervous. _"We saw Giovanni,"_ I eventually replied quietly.

Espeon's eyes were wide and Venusaur sucked in a startled breath. Blastoise glanced at Charizard when the fire-type growled deep in his throat while Snorlax worriedly looked to the door.

 _"Is Red hurt?"_ Espeon asked me and I shook my head.

I was glad that the first thing they were asking about was Red's safety.

I heard the growl coming from our resident fire-type turn into an angry snarl. _"Why is he here? How?"_ Charizard demanded.

No one had an answer for that. One would think the Indigo League wouldn't allow Giovanni to compete since he'd lost his gym leader position, much less so because of his violent history. I frowned to myself and my tail twitched. I wanted to hear what Lance had to say about it since he'd been mentioned. I shook myself from my thoughts and slapped my cheeks.

For now, I needed to worry more about Red instead of what I wanted. I knew this unplanned meeting hadn't be good for him so I decided to go see him. I went to the closed door as the others talked with each other in quiet, angry voices and jumped up to the door knob to turn it. It took two tries but I eventually did get it open. Doors are difficult to open when you're as small as me.

I left it open as I entered the dark room. I could see Red lying in bed on top of the covers, wide awake and lost in thought. As soon as I was close enough, I jumped up onto the bed and immediately went right next to his head and nudged it with my own. It made me sad to see him flinch slightly, but he quickly got over it and turned to face me to lift me up onto his chest and scratched my head.

I said nothing to him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to understand me, first of all. Secondly, he never did want to talk to anyone about what happened when we were younger, despite our growing concerns and suggestions. He was stubborn, constantly telling us he was fine even though he obviously wasn't. Blastoise had suggested a long time ago that since he wouldn't listen to us, simply being there would help and so far, it's worked out pretty well.

I gave him a smile when he stopped petting me. _"It'll be okay. We'll kick his ass if he comes near us again,"_ I told him confidently.

While he had no idea what I was saying, I'm sure he understood the gist of it. He smiled slightly and patted my head one last time before we felt the bed move again. Espeon had jumped up and immediately settled herself up against Red's other side near his waist then let out a soft purr as he scratched her head as well.

A few moments later, her purring had stopped and both Red and I glanced down to see she had fallen asleep while being petted, soft snores coming from her. Red and I met each other's eyes and he let out a soft, almost relieved, laugh. I rolled my eyes and thought the next time she decided to tease me about something, I knew exactly what I would bring up.

\---

I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep until Red's shrill alarm woke us all up in the morning.

I let out a tiny whine and heard an objecting grumble coming from the floor. Startled at the noise, I opened my eyes and saw it was Blastoise, slowly poking his head out from his comfortable shell and stared off into space for a few seconds before letting out a huge yawn. Espeon was up already with Venusaur, both of them sunbathing out in the living room in front of the balcony doors that were open, letting the cool morning air in while nearby the wide awake Charizard and the still sleeping Snorlax lay elsewhere.

I looked around with a confused face. Red was nowhere to be seen but once I picked up noises coming from the restroom, I relaxed a little. I soon yawned as well and sluggishly got up to my paws to walk across the bed to try and turn off Red's alarm, frowning as I tried to figure out how to turn it off. I pressed the big button in the middle, but that did nothing and it kept going. After a few more tries, I grew frustrated and slammed a paw against as many of the buttons as I could in one hit, hoping one of them would turn it off and thankfully it worked (if it turned on again ten minutes later and wouldn't turn off much to Red's confusion, that wasn't my fault).

I immediately scowled at the alarm clock. Why in the world was the alarm set for seven? We didn't have to do anything, did we? When the shower stopped running, I stretched and let out another yawn as Red came back out with a towel draped over his head and him trying to dry his hair as best as he could. As soon as he removed the towel, I frowned with concern at the dark circles under his eyes but he didn't notice the look as he started to get ready for the day. I highly doubted he had gotten much sleep last night, if any at all.

 _"Why are we up so early?"_ I asked Blastoise as he sat up.

He shrugged. _"Training?"_ he suggested.

I watched Red some more as he started to rub the towel roughly over his head in a vain attempt to dry it quicker. Blastoise was probably right: I mean, it was the only logical thing.

About fifteen minutes later (and one broken alarm clock later), Red had recalled everyone else and we were headed down to the first floor and with me in my usual spot on his left shoulder. I was surprised to see so many people up and moving around as soon as the elevator doors opened. What in the world was going on? Looking towards the cafeteria, I saw Blue talking with the silver-haired champion and Chili, then I noticed Ethan sitting at the same table as a girl with a white hat and a tall black and blue pokemon standing behind her with two plates balanced on its flat arm and the other grabbing the berries off of them with delight.

I was pleased that I couldn't see Giovanni anywhere but I also spotted Brock, stone-faced as usual, while Misty likely ranted about something to him and Ericka hiding her laughter from behind the arm of her yellow kimono. Whatever was going on, we didn't stop to talk to anyone as we headed outside quickly.

We managed to get down the steps until someone finally noticed us and shouted, "Hey, wait up!"

We turned our heads around as a boy with a white hat on jumped over the four steps and jogged to our sides. Red had stopped to wait for him and I tilted my head slightly, wondering who this was. "Thanks. There's too many people there right now," he said with a relieved sigh. "You don't mind if I come with you, do you?"

Red shook his head silently, starting to walk again.

I could see him keeping a close watch on the other teen and with those calculating eyes, I knew he was trying to gauge his strength as a trainer. He was just about my trainer's height, give or take a few millimeters and although the large hat he wore covered his head, I saw a little bit of dark brown hair poke out from underneath it. There wasn't much else that I could observe, but Red might've picked out other details that that went way over my head since he looked away to pay attention to where he was walking.

"I'm Brendan, by the way. I'm one of the Hoenn champions with Steven. Have you met him yet?"

My trainer shook his head, quickly losing interest in the conversation. I rolled my eyes at him. He could at least pretend he was interested.

I knew Brendan noticed but he didn't seem to care. "Oh, well, he told me he's seen you around. Silver hair and black suit, poufy red tie? That's him." He put his hands behind his head as we walked. There was a brief moment of silence where we could only hear the sounds of the city in the background and a few pokemon crying from far away. "A whole month before our tournament starts, huh? I mean, I'll be watching my dad battle during the Gym Leader Circuit but when I'm not, I guess I'll just wander around and explore. I mean, there's so many new pokemon I want to see!"

Now that piqued Red's interest and he glanced at him.

Brendan turned his head towards him and smiled again. "Wanna come with? Sometimes, I help May and Professor Birch with their research, I can show you what I know."

Red thought for a little and then shook his head once. Deep down, I was a little relieved. Arceus knows he gets himself into trouble and wanders away without us often enough. I didn't need another human to add to that annoyance.

Our companion pouted slightly. "Why not?"

"Training," Red answered quietly.

Brendan accepted the answer and smiled again. "Well, if you change your mind, let me know." Then his eyes glinted, a challenging look from any trainer if I'd ever seen one. "But no matter what, I won't go easy on you if we battle each other."

Red noticed the look and smirked a bit, nodding once. I wouldn't expect anyone to, in fact I would hope not. Going easy against another trainer is an insult, especially to us.

As we walked, Brendan convinced Red to stop to get breakfast at a restaurant nearby. While it wasn't the same one we had been to before, the food was nothing to complain about. I was glad Brandan wasn't a constant talker like Ethan was nor as pushy as Blue. He was passionate about pokemon, even introducing us to a green pokemon with a permanent blank look on his face he called Kecleon. Unlike his trainer, Kecleon kept mostly to himself and only spoke to me when spoken to. Honestly, he was quiet a boring pokemon but when he showed off his invisible trick, my eyes went wide.

I took it back. Kecleon was awesome. When I told him so, Kecleon seemed to be embarrassed and more than happy to go back into his pokeball when we were done eating. When we got close to the stadium, we were directed straight onto the field. I looked around in awe at the empty stadium.

The view down here was vastly different than the one from the top floor and I felt we could see every seat in the area. We weren't the only ones there and Brendan led us towards a man with dark hair, who glanced at us curiously. "Hey, Dad. This is Red and Pikachu," he said and motioned towards us.

"I know who they are," he answered then smiled at us. "I'm Norman, Petalburg City gym leader." He offered a hand and Red politely shook it in a firm grip. "Nice to meet you."

I smiled at him. _"Hello,"_ I said, reaching a paw out to shake as well.

Norman chuckled and amused me by shaking my paw as well. Red glanced at me with a raised brow and I just grinned at him.

"Oh, look, Red's socializing. Unheard of!" We turned to see Blue, who grinned at Red's instantly annoyed face as he walked over. "Don't act like it isn't true!"

He had a point.

I got a good look around at the people that were still coming in. A few of them wore extravagant outfits, one lady even wore a black pair of leggings and a dress with pink and yellow sleeves so long, I couldn't even see her fingers. Surprisingly enough, I didn't see Chili nor the other two brothers anywhere around as the doors closed.

I did notice Giovanni off to the side, though he wore a trench coat and hat to hide himself as best he could. If Red saw him, he didn't show or he was just pointedly ignoring him. Eventually, the director came out to address us and I was prepared for another long speech. Thankfully it wasn't and he and a few other people with black shirts and in big bold letters on the back the word "STAFF" began separating champions and gym leaders.

The director watched with a hand playing with his mustache as he watched everything and then nodded to himself as he turned to the gym leaders standing with their respective regions. "Gym leaders will be standing in the front, each region will be introduced one by one! Once gym leader introductions have concluded, your champions will be introduced by region as well."

He then turned towards us. "Champions, you will be walking out by region as well, named and titled. When you come out, stand in front of your region, and we will bring out the Trainer's Circuit winner, where they will pick which one of you they want to battle."

He then ushered everyone out to do a quick practice run and I was quickly bored of it. I had flopped on Red's shoulder by the time we were finally done, wanting to do anything but this. Even night training sounded better than this!

When we were finally released an hour later, we were made to wait inside while spectators were finally allowed inside the stadium. We stayed inside the conference room we had been in before and I felt my ears twitch when I heard footsteps beside us. Blue sat down in a chair next to Red, eyeing him with a frown. "You look like shit," he told him after a moment.

Red didn't answer, just scratching my chest fur as he held me.

Blue sighed and then said quietly to make sure no one else heard, "You know you can tell me if you have bad nights."

"Did you know?" Red finally asked, glancing back at him with narrowed eyes.

It seemed like he knew what he meant and shook his head. "Not until last night. That's why Lance pulled me aside." Blue leaned back in his chair, propping one foot on the back of the chair in front of him. "He told me Giovanni's participation was out of his hands, so whoever invited him was way above him." He stared up at the fluorescent lights above us in a brief silence, furrowing his brows together in thought.

I sat up but remained seated in Red's lap, watching the two keenly as I tried to figure out what that meant. Why did the League invite Giovanni? Why not a gym trainer from Blue's gym, like Salma, she was the strongest one Blue had! Lastly, why didn't Lance tell us himself?

Blue grunted as he sat up and we both looked back at him, torn from our own thoughts. "Maybe that's why Lance bought extra tickets for us." He snorted. "Whatever, at least we didn't have to pay for it. Wanna go see what Ethan and them are up to?"

Red tilted his head slightly and glanced down at me as I wondered who 'and them' were. I jumped up to his shoulder when Blue pulled him up to his feet anyway.

"No use in moping about something you can't control anyway."

Red quirked a brow once he was up. "I wish you knew that when you were ten," he answered simply and walked past him as Blue looked shocked.

I laughed, then turned around and stuck my tongue out at Blue for old times sake.

"What—hey! Pikachu! Red!"

We left the conference room and briefly waited for Blue to catch up so he could lead us to wherever Ethan 'and them' were.

'And them' turned out to be Black, White, Nate and Rosa, all five of them sitting on bar stools at a snack bar in a large waiting room of sorts with various foods and drinks in front of them. Ethan was the first to see us, smiling as he took another bite of his chips and cheese.

When offered if he wanted anything, Red shook his head, instead choosing to sit on an empty couch nearby that faced a television playing a live feed of the stadium. There were a few announcers talking to each other and playing recaps of the final match that had happened, constantly showing a shy boy with green hair but I soon grew bored decided to explore the room.

There wasn't much here save for a few magazines sitting on a shelf nearby, a vending machine and the snack bar. I watched as Red looked interested in the match that was playing then turned my eyes towards the Unova twins plus two. Blue and Ethan were starting to argue again and already White looked annoyed with them and voiced it to them loudly. Black tried to get her to quiet down as Rosa turned around in her seat. "Red! You should try this! It's a Unovan snack that everyone should try at least once!" she said and Nate nodded in agreement.

Red turned his head around and hesitated before he got up and went over. I was amazed, really. My trainer never willingly went to people he barely knew even if it was with Blue and Ethan, or one of them. He was usually the one to hide in the back and away from people, especially if he didn't know anyone in the immediate vicinity.

I looked at White, noticing her trying not to stare at him but failing ever few moments and forcing herself to look away. I had no idea what I wanted to happen anymore. Part of me wanted to say dating wasn't such a bad idea, but the other side wanted nothing to do with her, nor anyone else. I knew Red was old enough to make his own choices, and I knew he did need to go out and talk to people. I suppose this was as good a start as any.

We all looked up when everyone was called to a gate and Red glanced at me, holding his arm towards me. I shot a grin at him when I jumped up to his shoulder. We walked out of the room last and I noticed the other trainers in the area go quiet at the sheer sound of the cheering on the upper floors and when we got to the gate we would all exit out of, it was almost deafening even with the doors closed.

I looked up towards the concrete ceiling with an awed look when I listened to the cheering and then grinned as I glanced at Red. Unlike my trainer, I actually enjoyed battling in front of thousands of people, I loved having the spotlight and all eyes on me. I loved to show off my skills and let everyone know that we were the strongest while Red would much rather have a battle somewhere outside of the public eye.

A woman with long blue hair tied into a loose bun and wearing the staff shirt and black jeans was shouting something at all of us, making sure the Sinnoh gym leaders were first and that everyone else was away from the doors so people on the other side of the stadium could see us. I rolled my eyes. I highly doubted people could see anything through the long hallway between the stands, especially through a closed metal door.

Then I heard the echoed voice of an announcer suddenly saying through an intercom, _"Ladies and gentleman! Welcome to our final day of the Trainer's Circuit! We want to thank everyone for joining us thus far and congratulate our winner!"_

The cheers grew louder and Red glanced at Blue when he nudged him.

"Betcha any one of us could squash 'em," he said with a grin.

"Don't say that so quickly, Blue." I looked over to see Lance right behind us, smirking a little at us. He pretended not to see Red's irritated glance at him, as if he already knew what he was upset about. "You never know who will be more powerful than yourself, and this is coming from experience," he said. "I did not imagine three children would defeat me, after all."

Ethan jumped up from beside him, looking excited all over again. "That's why you changed your team, right? To counter all of us?" I flicked my ears. He changed his team to counter us? I grinned to myself. Lance could try all he wanted but if he used the same old strategies as before, he shouldn't be difficult to take down.

Lance let out a soft _hmph_ noise. "Of course. I will not be so easy to defeat this time, and I'm sure I could beat one of you, at least."

Ethan held up a finger and wagged it back and forth. "You're still defeatable, trust me."

"That isn't even a word," Blue told him.

"It is now!"

All of us glanced towards the door as it opened, letting in an explosion of cheers surround us. I was glad I wasn't the only one who winced at the sudden noise. _"We welcome to our great Driftveil City Stadium, the gym leaders of Sinnoh!"_

The blue-haired lady ushered the gym leaders forward and if I thought the cheers couldn't get any louder, they did. As soon as the leaders of Sinnoh were gone, I watched as Johto's leaders stepped forward where they had once stood.

It went on until Kanto was last and I glowered at Giovanni, who ignored our look as he stayed near the back. Once they had gone out, the doors closed again and the woman shout at everyone, "Same order! Sinnoh, Johto, Hoenn, Unova, Kalos, Kanto!"

I decided that putting on a show just to introduce us all to everyone was too much work. Sure, it was exciting and it may look good on camera, but behind stage felt rushed and all I wanted to take a nap. I yawned to let Red know but he simply ignored me, staying at Blue's side in the back of the line. I huffed at him. I didn't enjoy being ignored.

 _"Please join us in welcoming all gym leaders participating in the tournament!"_ There was barely a pause when I heard cheering again. _"Now we meet our next competitors for the Champion's Tournament!"_

If I didn't know what cheering was like before, I did now. I made a tiny whining noise of discomfort and Red glanced at me, but I shook my head then he looked back ahead. I didn't want to go back into my pokeball, I'd just suck it up and enjoy the moment.

The crowds were screeching and chanting various champions and their names and kept cheering as the doors opened up again. _"The dazzling ladies of Sinnoh! Current title holder of World Champion Cynthia and Tamer of Giratina, Champion Dawn!"_ Giratina? Well, if she could tame a legendary, I'm sure she would be a powerful opponent. I kind of hoped we would fight her, she sounded like she would be a challenge we needed.

I looked at Red, starting to get excited again and he smiled, nodding as he scratched my head and I could sense a bite of calm coming from him, setting his face to his blank expression again.

I looked at Ethan as he turned to us, smiling. "See you on the field!" he said cheerfully as the doors in front of he and Lance opened up.

_"Home of the Bell Tower in Johto, Champion Ethan and Dragon Master Lance!"_

The cheers grew louder, and I could hear so many of the younger ladies screaming Ethan's name as if he'd even be able to determine which voice belonged to whom. I rolled my eyes. Fangirls were something else.

_"All the way from the Isles of Hoenn, we have Champion Brendan, geologist extraordinaire Steven and the water-type enthusiast, Wallace!"_

I watched as Nate glanced back at us and grinned, giving us a thumbs-up before he walked with the other Unova champions through the doors. _"Next up: Our very own Unova Champions all in attendance! The Four Twins: Black and White, Rosa and Nate! Also in attendance is veteran Alder and our current champion, Iris!"_

I noticed Blue glance towards us when the Kalos trio started to walk forward, leaving us alone. "You ready for your ears to bleed?" he teased and chuckled as Red rolled his eyes. "Not my fault you avoid the public, you got that famous title yourself." And I was sure we would be introduced using our 'famous' title.

 _"From the starry region of Kalos, Champion Calem, Champion Serena and our favorite movie star, Diantha!"_ The screeches were loud as soon as Diantha was announced, and I watched the stylish champions walk out onto the field. I briefly wondered who wore what better: Diantha and her dazzling white coat or Lance and his extravagant cape.

Shortly the doors in front of us were opened and the cheers suddenly grew even louder than before as Red and Blue walked towards the other champions. I distinctly heard Red and Blue's names being chanted by several different trainers before we had even been announced and I looked up, seeing many people on the sides leaning over to get a good look at us. I couldn't help but grin at them, even offered them a thumbs-up as Red kept walking forward onto the field.

 _"And last but not least, the two youngest trainers to have ever earned the title of Champion in the world, all the way from Kanto, final gym leader, Champion Blue and the elusive Champion of the Mountain, Red!"_ Blue and I happily waved to the crowd, Red remained stoic through the entire introductions, the intimidating frown replacing any emotion on his face.

We made our way towards the Kanto gym leaders and once we were in our spots, we turned around to face the large crowds in front of us. It really was amazing to see how many people were here to just look at us, if only for a few minutes.

_"The Gym Leader Circuit will begin on Monday, while the Champion's Tournament will begin on the first of next month!"_

Among the cheering, I noticed the gym leaders turn around and exit the arena and I watched as a young man with a shy and nervous smile plastered on his face was walked forward with a man in a blue suit as he waved at the crowds.

The man took a microphone and held it up to his mouth. "Trainer Wally! You have won the Trainer's Circuit and now you have the chance to battle any champion you see on the field. Have you made your decision yet?" So this was the announcer? His high-pitched voice didn't match up with his face.

The boy—Wally—looked between all of us with star-struck, nervous eyes, before he nodded up at the man. "I have," he answered when the microphone was in his face.

I watched him scan his eyes towards everyone until he smiled a bit more confidently. "Brendan, you and I were rivals all through Hoenn. How about one more match?"

From the side, Brendan stepped forward with a determined grin as he slapped on a thick, dark bracelet with a strange stone embedded in it. I blinked at it curiously and heard him say, "You and Gardevoir better be ready, then."

The rest of us turned around and walked back through the gates we came through and I felt slightly disappointed. I wanted to see what would happen but when I felt Red's shoulder relax as soon as we were out of the public view, I glanced at him. I wondered what was going through his mind as we walked through the hall to head outside. He seemed to be distracted and didn't even respond to Blue when he called his name and if I had to guess what he was thinking about, it was Giovanni.

Blue finally caught up to us and put a hand on his shoulder. "Red, I called you like a thousand times," he said as Red glanced back at him, slightly startled. "Come on, let's go to the beach. Ethan, White and I are all going there for training but with Ethan coming, I doubt much training will get done."

We met White and Ethan outside, the latter smiling the instant he saw us. It was much quieter outside of the arena, though the echoes of the cheers were still loud in the sky. I was happy that the suffocation of the thousands of people watching us finally dissipated and Blue greeted them back and we all started walking together. "I can't wait for our battles to start," he said.

"I'll take you down in order to fight Red first!" Ethan objected.

"Why are you still going on about that?!"

White looked amused as she watched them, looking at Red. "Are they always like this?" she asked curiously and Red nodded once, looking annoyed at the two of them. She leaned forward to make sure Ethan and Blue could see her while we walked away from the stadium. "Why are you fighting over Red? It's not like it'll be up to you who you fight first."

Ethan looked at her as if she had said something wrong. "Are you out of your mind? I have a bet with Blue that I'll fight him first!"

"You do not!" Blue retorted.

"Now I do!"

"Ugh!"

"What if neither of you fought him then? What if it's me who has to fight him first?" White asked, egging them on. Red shot her a pleading look for her to stop which she ignored, grinning ear to ear.

"Then I'll fight him during training!" Ethan exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, what training would get done? Blue was right and all I could foresee is a bunch of teens arguing with each other instead of training.

Blue rolled his eyes at the younger trainer and looked at White and Red. "I say we should do a double battle, then: me and Red versus you and Ethan."

White grinned and nodded. "You're on, spiky hair man," she said and I smiled as Blue narrowed his eyes.

"Doesn't his hair defy gravity?" Ethan added and laughed.

Blue's annoyance rose more, shooting his glare at him. "Cut it out already, Ethan!"

Red watched them with the slightest smile on his face, saying nothing as he listened.

Ethan shook his head rapidly. "Not until you tell me your secrets! When your hair is wet, does it all fall down like those commercials you see on T.V. with the women with the really long, thick hair?" He flicked his bangs dramatically. "'Maybe it's me; maybe it's Combee Shampoo,'" he quoted and laughed as Blue tried to smack him and he dodged it.

"I'll bet if he straightens it and puts on a little bit of foundation, he could pass for a chick," White added and laughed. I snickered and could see that Red wasn't bothering on hiding his smile either.

"I'll have you know that my hair isn't that long, and when it gets wet, it stays like this, thank you very much!" Blue snapped.

"How much hair product do you use then? I need to find a new style for my hair, tell me your secrets!"

Blue shot a pleading look at Red and I. "Come on, Red, help a friend out!"

Red threw his hands up in defense, silently saying he wasn't going to get involved in any of this. That only invited Ethan and White to keep ganging up on poor Blue for the rest of the walk towards the secret beach spot.

As I watched from my spot on my trainer's shoulder, I finally decided that this wouldn't be so bad. I could get used to this, becoming friends with more people.

So long as no other feelings would develop between anyone, everything would be fine.


	6. O.G.A.D.

_Pikachu_

The beach calmed everyone down by the time we got there, and we all agreed it should be only one pokemon each. Ethan most definitely wanted to play in the water instead while White completely agreed, declaring how much she wanted to see Blue's "long and flowing" hair. Red was indifferent about it, but I think he, too, wanted to see what would to Blue's hair happen if he was tossed into the water when I saw him smile again.

While we approached the mossy entrance, White and Red went through without hesitation and Ethan made a face of disgust before he followed them. "This is gross… and slimy," I heard him say.

Blue had the most trouble getting through as he followed us with a grunt of effort then stumbled out when he was free. "I'm not going that way again," he told us and White snickered as she led the way down to the beach again.

I jumped ahead and ran onto the beach, kicking up fine sand and dust in my wake. When I heard someone suddenly sputter, I glanced back and smirked as White tried to get sand out of her mouth. "Hey, get back here!" she snapped and started to chase after me.

I grinned some more and sprinted faster, making sure I was just fast enough to outrun her even though I heard Red's disappointed sigh.

"I see how it is!" White didn't even stop running when she grabbed a pokeball. "Serperior, catch up to Pikachu!"

I blinked and squeaked the instant I saw the giant snake pokemon tower over me. Immediately, I slid to a stop to let it lunge over me then turned right around and sprinted back for Red, nearly tackling him to the ground when I tried burrowing myself into his vest. I heard the humans burst into laughter and Blue said something about seeing me being scared for the first time or whatever. I scowled at him once I poked my head out. I was _not_ scared of a stupid snake!

Red just smiled at me and patted my head gently to comfort me. He pulled me out of his vest and set me onto his shoulder, looking over as White and Serperior came over. "I'm sorry, Pikachu! I didn't mean to scare you that much!" she said but I glowered when she didn't stop laughing the entire time.

Red glanced down at me, raising a brow as if to say, _Apologize to her._ I grumbled under my breath before saying, _"Sorry for kicking sand in your mouth."_ I snickered suddenly. _"It was funny though."_

Serperior didn't seem to be amused, letting out a soft hiss and his sharp eyes stared at me. _"You kicked sand at her?"_ he demanded.

I huffed at him in objection. Now that he wasn't chasing me down, he didn't seem that frightening. He sounded like a jerk. _"Yeesh, overprotective much? It was an accident! I said I was sorry!"_

Serperior frowned but rose his nose up at me and looked away without another word.

I turned my own nose up at him in retaliation. Snobby pokemon, that one was.

"Please be nice, Serperior," White said with a sigh as Red patted my head a couple times to try and get me to calm down, too.

He watched Serperior with interest as Blue whipped out his pokedex to scan him. "What pokemon is this?" he asked, mostly to himself as he read the details the old device picked up.

White then turned back to face us then motioned towards her pokemon. "This is Serperior." Then she turned to Serperior. "Serperior, these three are other champions from different regions."

Serperior finally eyed us all with a critical look, then his tail thumped onto the ground. _"They seem tough to battle,"_ he finally decided. Then he turned his gaze towards me. _"Except for you, little mouse."_

 _"Hey! I'm the toughest on my team!"_ I retorted.

_"I highly doubt that."_

I let out a few sparks and heard Ethan say, "I don't think they get along very well." His eyes brightened and he grabbed his pokeballs in both of his hands quickly. "I think you'll get along with my team though, Serperior!" He tossed out all of his pokemon and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes when Typhlosion came out scratching his ear and flicking something off of his claw when he was done. "This is Typhlosion, or Ty for short."

Typhlosion glanced at Serperior and offered a smile but said nothing as Ampharos waved one of her stubby arms at him in greeting. "That's Ampharos, she's nice, don't worry."

 _"I wasn't,"_ Serperior mumbled to himself.

 _"You don't have to be so rude,"_ I scolded and went completely ignored.

"That over there is Sudowoodo, with him is Scizor then this giant teddy bear right here is Ursaring."

Scizor and Sudowoodo glanced towards everyone and offered a polite greeting when called while Ursaring studied Serperior although he was quickly bored and wandered off to sit in the shade of the cave.

The smallest on Ethan's team flew towards Serperior fearlessly and smiled brightly, offering a tiny arm for him to shake. _"And I'm Togetic! It's nice to meet you, Serperior!"_ she said.

He paused for a moment and then tapped her arm with his nose in salutation.

I tried really hard not to get jealous of the kind response he gave everyone else. Was kicking sand _on accident_ at his trainer such a crime?

When Blue released his team, he was immediately trampled by Arcanine, who ignored his startled yelp when he knocked him clear off his feet. He then licked his trainers face and ensured extra slobber covered his cheek while Blue tried to push the giant canine off. "Ugh, gross! Arcanine, get off!" he shouted and spat out fur that got in his mouth. The rest of his team didn't seem to care as if this was a normal thing and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised.

Arcanine laughed and obeyed. _"It's what he gets for not letting us run around for a long time!"_ he said when Blue got up, wiping his cheek with the sleeve of his jacket. He then blinked when he finally noticed everyone else. _"Oh! Hi, Pikachu!"_

I grinned at him. Arcanine had always been friendly to everyone, even when he was a growlithe way back when. I jumped down to exchange a few sparks of electricity with Jolteon as Machamp and Alakazam wandered towards Ethan's team to say hello in a more quiet and mature way than Arcanine. Pidgeot stayed near Blue while Gyarados immediately went for the water, not caring much about meeting new pokemon as White and Red tossed out everyone else as well.

I heard Ethan tell his team to play nice with the other pokemon as he kicked off his shoes, fully intending to play in the water instead of doing any training like what we'd come here for. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Blue was right. Nothing was going to get done today.

When White released her team, Red was immediately curious about the different pokemon and went towards them without a word. I knew he shared that trait with his mother, unafraid of approaching new or wild pokemon without a single care in the world. That had landed us in trouble more times than I could count and to be honest, I wished he'd learned his lesson the first few times.

White seemed a little confused but she giggled as Red approached a tan and brown flying-type with a bone at the top of her head. "He's always had a fascination with new species, sometimes I wonder if he hadn't gotten into battling if he'd be a researcher," Blue explained and ignored a glare from Red.

"Mandi?" The strange bird tilted her head as Red opened one of her wings, looking confused then looked at White. _"What on earth is he doing?"_ she asked, looking at me and I shrugged.

 _"He does this. He's weird like that,"_ Snorlax answered with an annoyed sigh. He looked half-tempted to pluck him up into his paws to get him to leave her alone. _"I'm sorry about him."_

"That's Mandibuzz. I'm kind of surprised she hasn't pecked you yet for touching her wings," White said and laughed as Red quickly let go, not wanting to risk getting pecked. Mandibuzz simply glared at Red a bit more before flying off to perch in a tree overlooking the beach. A large Herdier look-alike barked happily, tail wagging as Ethan scratched his ears. "And that's Stoutland. He's a people pokemon."

"I love him already," Ethan immediately said and laughed when Stoutland instantly panted proudly and nearly pushed him over, demanding to be pet more.

A fourth pokemon went up to Red instead, his body a transparent green and looked just as intrigued about Red as Red was about him. _"I can understand why he is very curious, he has never seen anything like my kind before,"_ he said and caused Red to jump. White laughed as Ethan and Blue also flinched, hearing his voice as well.

I just rolled my eyes. Oh great, another psychic-type.

 _"I am Reuniclus. I do apologize for scaring you three."_ He then leaned forward slightly to stare right into Red's eyes. _"But may I ask: how are your eyes red? Surely, it is not a birth defect?"_

Red stared at the pokemon before he shook his head and I laughed. Usually, he was irritated when someone asked him about his eyes but I guess since he was paying more attention to the new pokemon, he didn't care.

 _"No, his eyesight is perfectly fine,"_ Espeon explained for our trainer, this time startling White. Red smiled a bit as White knelt down to Espeon's level and pet her head.

"She's so cute! I love the color of her fur too; don't tell Black this but purple is my most definite favorite color in the world," she said to us all.

Blue suddenly grinned, making White slowly frown. "I'll be sure to tell him when I see him next," he said and her frown turned into an angry glare.

"Blue!"

"It's what you get for getting onto me about my hair!"

"What? It's true! Your hair is super spiky! Well, not Nate spiky, but still spiky enough! Spiky head!"

Blue was quiet for a while before he let out a long, drawn-out sigh then left us to go towards his own pokemon.

White looked proud of herself and then smiled as a pokemon walking on two feet shyly stayed next to her, regarding the others with only mild interest. "This is Mienshao. She's a bit shy. And that over there with your Ampharos is Zebstrika." She smiled as the black and white pokemon turned towards us when she heard her name then tossed her head happily in greeting before she resumed her conversation with Ampharos.

Red returned to the other humans to find a shady spot in the sand to sit as I ran with Jolteon, Stoutland and Togetic into the water to play, while Blastoise was already deep underwater to join Gyarados while Pidgeot, Mandibuzz, Scizor and Charizard were in the sky for a race.

We were on the beach for hours with absolutely zero training completed and honestly, I couldn't complain. It had been an extremely long time since we had just relaxed with friends and play instead of battling each other.

Soon I heard Espeon chuckling alongside other lady pokemon she sat with and she glanced towards Jolteon and I when we were running away from Stoutland and Togetic in a game of tag. _"Pikachu! Jolteon! We need to form a plan, but we need your help!"_ she was saying.

I glanced at Jolteon. He shrugged before we wandered to the other eevee-lution. _"What is it now?"_ he asked, sitting down beside her. _"This is not another one of your grand schemes to get us into trouble again, is it? Last time, Blue was super mad at me 'cause you basically broke my pokeball."_

 _"Nope, no grand schemes of trouble,"_ she answered with a smile.

I felt a scowl form on my face and suddenly I was grateful that Jolteon was beside her and not me. That smile definitely said she was up to no good.

 _"Don't worry, it's nothing bad!"_ Ampharos replied with a smile.

 _"It's obvious now,"_ Zebstrika said, grinning.

I blinked, looking at them in confusion. What were they talking about? _"What's obvious now?"_ I asked cautiously.

Mienshao stood right next to her teammate and looked towards the humans. _"Well, Hilda hasn't stopped staring at Red, for one,"_ she answered softly.

_"You call White by her real name?"_

Mienshao gave me a miniscule nod and seemed to be instantly flustered, hiding herself behind Zebstrika's leg.

Jolteon glanced back towards our humans, seeing that White was arguing with Blue again and Red was poking at his pokegear. _"It doesn't look like she's staring at him now,"_ he noted.

 _"We need your help getting Red to notice her,"_ Ampharos said with a smile and nod.

I scowled immediately, not liking where this was going. _"And why do you need our help?"_ I questioned.

 _"Obviously, we are all close to our trainers. But we need Blue and Red to have some more time to themselves, leaving more openings in Red's schedule,"_ Zebstrika explained.

 _"Do you get it now?"_ Espeon asked.

I turned my glare at her when she started to innocently lick her paw. _"I don't want him to get distracted! I thought we agreed to no dating until after the tournament is over!"_ I scolded her.

She turned her dark eyes at me, mischief radiating out of every single pour from her body. _"I'm aware of that, but it takes time for someone like Red to at least notice White and that itself will be chore. So, I changed my mind about the whole situation."_ She set her paw down, eyeing both Jolteon and I. _"We have two months for them to go on a date. During that time, we need to build their feelings for each other! That's all we need to do!"_

I frowned and let out an irritated snort as I thought. While our trainer was incredibly talented, extremely clever and gifted at battling, he was completely dense when it came to things like this. I finally let out a sigh and without looking up, I knew Espeon was smiling. _"I don't like this idea,"_ I told her.

_"I know. Neither will Charizard, but if for some reason it doesn't work out, he'll at least have made a friend, right?"_

I glanced at her. _"Okay, well say that they do get together and say that they do like each other. What happens when the tournament starts and they have to battle each other? What happens when we have to go home?"_

_"I highly doubt they would let a relationship stop them from concentrating on battles. Besides, long-distance relationships are pretty common."_

_"Most of them don't work out, though,"_ Jolteon told her.

 _"Have a little faith! Even if they don't end up liking each other like that, it would be good for Red to have more friends than Ethan and Blue."_ She looked at Ampharos and Jolteon. _"No offense."_

Ampharos chuckled. _"None taken,"_ she replied.

I let out a loud groan and gave in, throwing my paws up into the air. _"Okay, okay, fine! I'll help you,"_ I said.

Jolteon glanced at me with surprise. _"Really? You're going to help them set the two up?"_ he asked.

_"Yeah, and you're helping too, sparky."_

Jolteon scowled but said nothing.

I heard Ampharos giggle something along the lines of, _"Like trainer, like starter!"_

 _"Are you guys even sure Red likes her that way?"_ I asked. _"I haven't seen him give off any signs that he even likes her…"_ My eyes widened suddenly as Espeon gave me a smug grin. I remembered suddenly the night a couple of days ago when he had been too distracted to eat dinner for a long time. Was I right in my assumption that he had been thinking about her and not Blue? I opened my mouth to say something, but Espeon was speaking first.

 _"I may or may not have pried a little bit that night,"_ she casually admitted and shrugged.

_"Is that why you're so enthusiastic about this?"_

_"Maybe."_

I groaned with annoyance again. Red had told her before not to read his mind but her natural curiosity would constantly take over and she would do the opposite of what he told her to do.

 _"A lady's intuition is far greater than any man's anyway,"_ Ampharos stated, waving one of her arms back and forth _._

 _"What does that have to do with anything?"_ Jolteon mumbled.

Zebstrika chuckled and said, _"What she means is that Hilda is too shy to admit she has feelings to Red directly, so that's why she wanted to know him more by asking Blue and Ethan some questions."_

 _"Even Ethan isn't that dumb. But admittedly, he does have more people skills than Red,"_ Ampharos said with a giggle.

Espeon looked at Jolteon. _"All we're asking for is for you to distract Blue while they distract Ethan. It shouldn't be hard to do, those two are easily distracted with silly arguments, right?"_

Jolteon was quiet for a little bit, his fur bristling with electricity briefly. Finally, he gave in and said, _"I guess. Blue once mentioned that Red would never have enough social skills to ever get a girlfriend if he stayed on Mount Silver."_

 _"And Hilda spends too much time with Cheren, Bianca, Hilbert and pokemon to even think about making new friends,"_ Mienshao told us as she came out of her hiding spot.

Espeon got up to her paws then smiled at us. _"Great! But the first step to any sort of relationship—"_ She looked at me. _"—or getting to know someone better as a friend, is a date. The only issue is that we made Red promise that he can't date until after the tournament is over so we just have to clear that up for him."_

I glanced towards the trainers and eyed Red, who looked bored among the three other humans and stared off towards the sea, looking completely at peace.

Espeon continued. _"We'll tell him tonight, right Pikachu? We have to tell the others, of course, but not right now. Tonight, if he forgets to let us out of our pokeballs, be sure to let us out. That'll be the only time we'll have to discuss this with each other, okay?"_

I gave her an uneasy nod.

 _"I dub this Operation: Get A Date,"_ Mienshao proclaimed happily and received delighted agreements from the other lady pokemon. Jolteon and I just looked at each other with nervous eyes.

We already knew Operation: Get A Date would be harder than it sounded.

\---

As the afternoon dragged on, we began to goof around each other and White and Ethan had to separate Mandibuzz and Togetic when they got into a heated argument about whether or not the red poffin was better than the green one. All of us were enjoying ourselves, though we hardly went into the water; everyone except Blastoise and Gyarados complained about how cold it was and didn't go any deeper than their ankles. Ethan had tried to shove Blue into the water and got a face full of water from a large splash by Gyarados in retaliation. Soaked from head to toe, he only laughed and said how happy he was that his shoes, socks and sweatshirt were far from the water.

I was looking around for my own trainer and instantly grew irritated when he wasn't near Snorlax nor any of the other humans like he had been before. I glanced at the rest of my team and called out, _"Red did his magic trick!"_

Charizard immediately let out a sigh and fanned his wings open to go search for our missing trainer. I heard some of the other pokemon from other teams tell us to lighten up but after spending so much time on a dangerous mountain top and getting into a few dangerous skirmishes with the wild pokemon there, we told ourselves to keep the young man in sight.

Obviously, it didn't work out all the time and he would disappear just like this time.

After Charizard flew off, I shouted to the others that I would go search for him as well. Espeon was busy with the other pokemon playing a game with a seashell they found, Blastoise was still underwater somewhere while Venusaur and Snorlax lounged on the beach and both decided to be lazy and stay where it warmed their fur or scales. The two of them just nodded at me and went back to their naps. I scowled at them but said nothing as I took off. Could they show at least some worry about him? While Red was more than capable of taking care of himself and this place wasn't Mount Silver, it didn't mean he wouldn't get himself into trouble again.

He had a knack of finding trouble wherever he was, especially if he was alone. He was just lucky he hasn't gotten seriously injured from the wild pokemon back on the mountain. When we first arrived at Mount Silver, he would constantly wander into other pokemon's territory unknowingly and cause the defending pokemon to attack. Myself or another one of the team would hear the commotion, complain about it and then play a tiny game of rock, paper, scissors to see who was next to get Red out of trouble.

Blue was right, though. If he hadn't become a trainer, he would have obviously been a field researcher since he constantly went back to the wild pokemon's territory just to see how the different species mingled with each other.

Sometimes, he would be down in the caves of Mount Silver for a few minutes, others for hours at a time. One time, he was gone for just about an entire day and it scared the living daylights out of all of us when we couldn't find him by sunset. We eventually found him in the lowest cave in the mountain, though instead of going to us, he told us to be quiet and pointed towards the nearly glowing pokemon that rested in its scorched bed.

During our journey, we had encountered and caught the three legendary birds then released them after trouble had passed but I found something incredibly curious: Moltres wasn't there when we first arrived. Perhaps Moltres knew that Red was there and some part of me believed that the legendary made the mountain his home as well to keep an eye on our mutual trainer. Either way, he had been asleep and Venusaur was the one who had to drag Red away back up to the summit.

I wandered away from the other pokemon and all the way up and out of the tiny cavern space then headed for the woods at the top of the cliff. The forest seemed far more rugged and wild than what I was used to despite being close to the city.

I walked past a few pokemon and stopped to ask a small blue bug-type if they'd seen a human wandering around. With a shake of her head, she walked off and I groaned loudly. Where in the world did he go? He couldn't have gone that far!

I walked through the trees looking for my trainer and as the minutes ticked by, my annoyance began to build. Why would he even wander off and risk getting lost? He had no idea where anything was yet! Arceus knows we get lost enough back in Kanto with his horrible sense of direction.

Then my ears perked up when I heard laughter from pokemon nearby and I jumped over some mud. I ran towards the high-pitched voice the moment I heard them say, _"This is great! He has the best poffins ever!"_

I broke through a bush and shook the leaves out of my fur once I saw two four-legged pokemon happily surrounding my trainer, who in turn handed them both poffins he'd somehow gotten a hold of. He looked at me once he heard me, patted the smaller one's head and picked me up.

 _"Who are you?"_ the smaller pokemon asked, big brown eyes blinking curiously at me as her ears twitched. She was definitely a grass type and if the green fur didn't give it away, the flower growing from her head did.

The pokemon beside her was much larger, though he had many thick, green leaves on his thick antlers and stayed quiet. There was no doubt in my mind that he was the smaller one's father with the way he warily scanned me with his eyes and kept himself close to her protectively.

 _"I'm Pikachu. This is Red, my trainer. It's okay if you Headbutt him or something if he's bothering you."_ I shrugged and Red blinked as he tried to understand our speech, his face twisted with confusion.

_"Then how come he doesn't talk?"_

_"Because he believes that you don't have to talk in order to get your point across. Like this, for example."_ With a tiny Thundershock, Red jumped in surprise and gave me a hard glare that I returned as I climbed out of his arms and up to his shoulder. _"See? And you have got to stop running off! What if you really got hurt this time? Stop laughing!"_

Red simply pushed my anger aside, laughing as if this was just a giant game and I sighed at him. He wouldn't have laughed this hard in front of the others, especially with White or Ethan around.

 _"He must trust you a lot if he just ignores a Thundershock,"_ the larger pokemon said. _"I am Sawsbuck, this is my daughter, Deerling."_ Deerling smiled up at me again, but she watched my trainer eagerly as Red pulled out three poffins, handing one to me and the two grass types. _"I normally don't go near humans, but I must admit that your trainer is a wonderful chef."_

I immediately accepted the treat and took it into both of my paws. I was sure that he wasn't the one who made them but I wasn't about to say that since he could make a decent poffin when given the chance. _"He wasn't bothering you though, right? I'm sorry if he did. He has a tendency to go up to pokemon when he gets curious, no matter how dangerous they are."_

Sawsbuck shook his head once. _"No, Deerling was the one who found him; she said she smelled something good in his pockets. He was the one who was cautious when he saw us and he showed us he meant no harm."_

At least he was finally learning, I thought.

Deerling, however, nodded enthusiastically. _"Yeah! I smelled the poffins!"_ She suddenly hung her head a little and added sheepishly, _"I accidentally tackled him though and got his shirt all dirty. I said I was sorry but he gave me one anyhow and even Daddy tried to apologize but he gave him a poffin too! They're super good! My favorite one's the super sweet one!"_

Boy, did she talk a lot and she jumped on her hooves in her sudden enthusiasm for sweets.

I was glad that Red wasn't the one who bothered them, he probably didn't expect to run into any pokemon so close to the city. Meeting Sawsbuck and Deerling made me wonder if Red always had something on him to try and divert the attacking pokemon's attention. Honestly, it was good thinking for someone who wandered alone.

I managed to smile once Deerling was done talking at the speed of light and said, _"I'm glad he didn't get you into trouble. We have to go back to the others, now—"_

_"The others? Oh! Are they like the ones from that world tournament thingy in the city?"_

I nodded slowly. _"Yeah, how'd you know?"_

Sawsbuck tilted his head a little. _"I heard from Accelgor that a bunch of foreign trainers came and are taking part in a tournament. Are you participating then?"_ he asked curiously.

I smiled and puffed out my chest. _"Yep! We're competing in the champion bracket next month!"_

Deerling looked amazed and she smiled widely. _"A champion team! Daddy, Daddy! They're champions!"_

Sawsbuck nodded to acknowledge her. _"I met a champion once when I was a Deerling myself, I think his name is Alder, I heard he is going to be there too. Where are you from?"_

 _"Kanto and yes, Alder is participating, but I'm sure we'll beat him, right Red?"_ I smiled at my trainer, who still looked lost at all the talking and remained quiet. I wished Espeon had come just so she could translate.

Deerling jumped up, turning to face her father. _"Daddy! I wanna be a part of a champion team! Please, Daddy, can I? Ooh! Can we go watch some battles! Pretty, pretty please!"_

Sawsbuck looked down at her, surprised. _"Why?"_ he blurted.

She promptly took a determined step towards Red, stomping a hoof into the ground as she locked eyes with his. Then with a straight face, she shouted, _"'Cause I wanna be the very best! The strongest Deerling ever! Like no Deerling ever was!"_

Somehow, that sounded oddly familiar.

\---

The trip back to the beach was mostly uneventful. Charizard had found us a few minutes later while Red was trying to show Deerling he was out of poffins and instead of being nervous around Charizard like her father was, Deerling pranced right up to him with innocent excitement that made me smile. She was young and naïve yet surprisingly brave for a young pokemon like her. She kept begging Sawsbuck to let her go with us back to the beach to play a little and finally he gave in, knowing she was safe with us.

He did make me promise him that she would be back when we were done otherwise he'd have my hide. Despite knowing I could take him in a battle fair and square, I didn't want to get on his bad side and just confirmed I would make sure she returned home safely.

Red didn't seem to mind the young grass-type as we walked through the woods back to the beach but Charizard was a different story. He didn't enjoy her company as she kept badgering him to say more than one-line responses and kept comparing him to Red on how much they talked (and didn't). She also mentioned how her father was taller than Red was because of his antlers and what seashell she found in a cave the other day. Annoyed at the smaller pokemon, he kept Red in between us all and walked on all fours with a scowl on his face.

Once we finally reached the beach, Blue spotted us all the moment we stepped into the sand and immediately walked to us. "Where in the world did you go? You can't always do this disappearing act all the time…?" he said, angrily at first but slowly his tone turned into one of confusion when he spotted Deerling racing beside Charizard. Without another word, he promptly whipped out his pokedex and scanned her.

White looked curious as well, smiling at Deerling as she ran up to her happily. "You did notice a wild deerling is following you, right?" she asked.

Red shrugged and sat beside Snorlax instead.

"But seriously, where'd you go this time? And why is Deerling flirting with Charizard?"

Red blinked and looked at Deerling when she tried to get Charizard to play with her.

I looked at Espeon, telling her what happened in the forest and she chuckled. When I was done, the gem on her head glowed and she said to the humans, _"I was told she is following you because someday she wants to be a part of a champion's team. I believe it is an admirable goal."_

I watched Deerling as she followed Charizard all around for a long while but she instantly pouted once he took off into the sky to get away from her. _"And she seems to love Charizard,"_ Espeon added.

Blue laughed as well and looked at Deerling when she trotted to Red. He patted her head and I laughed when she jumped when a loud noise suddenly went off in Red's pocket. _"You're mean! It's not funny!"_ she cried.

 _"Yes, it is!"_ I replied through laughs. She was still young, she'd get over it.

Red was reading a message and typed something back. Ethan peered over his shoulder to peek at the message and he smiled suddenly. "Can I come, too? She makes the best meals ever!" he said.

"Go where?" Blue asked curiously.

"Red's mom wants to know when he's gonna be back so she can cook dinner. I'm tired of hotel food, I want real food!"

"Hotel food is real food," White said.

"Yeah, but it's boring and bland!"

"There's such a thing called salt and pepper," Blue told him, getting up to his feet.

"Doesn't make the food taste not boring!"

Poor Deerling was so confused, staying beside Red and me, tilting her head from side to side as she watched the other three teenagers. _"What's going on? Why are they arguing so much? Do they not like each other?"_ she asked me.

I shook my head as the trainers began to recall their teams. _"It's not that they don't like each other—they do. They just get into, erm, friendly discussions all the time. Especially Blue and Ethan."_

She still seemed confused but accepted the answer with a nod then looked up as White knelt to her level. "We have to go back to town now. If you really want to become a part of a champion team someday, you need to work hard and find yourself a good trainer. It isn't easy and sometimes you'll feel like quitting but you just have to keep pushing on."

I noticed Red's eyes soften slightly when he listened to her, then glanced at me when I tilted my head a little at him. Had something she said affect him too? I know there were times we found it too difficult to do anything but no matter what was thrown at us, we always overcame it. I smiled and patted his head with a paw as I jumped onto his shoulder.

"No matter what, Deerling, never give up, okay?"

Deerling smiled and stomped a hoof into the sand. _"Okay!"_

Red scratched my chin when we turned around and headed to the mossy cavern exit.

I heard the others following us and even though Blue was complaining, he still squeezed himself through the tiny gap and up the hill towards town again. When I glanced back to the forest, I saw Sawsbuck waiting for Deerling at the edge of the trees and the little pokemon spun around with a quick farewell to go back to her father.

He gave me a brief nod before he turned around and walked back into the woods as Deerling sprinted right after him. I smiled at them when I watched them disappear. She seemed promising and her spunk would definitely help her find a future trainer. Maybe when she grew older, we would battle each other. For now, she was far too young to be separated from her parents for too long.

The walk back to the hotel was relatively calm as the sun started to set. Red and Ethan suddenly turned toward a supermarket before we even got near the hotel and confused, the rest of us looked between each other. "Where are we going? The hotel's that way," Blue said as he jogged to catch up.

My trainer pulled out his pokegear and turned it to the messages section and showed one to him. I tried to look at it, huffing when it was pulled away before I could even read what his mother had sent him.

"Gotcha. Fair enough." Blue turned to White. "We're getting extra ingredients for dinner; his mom makes the best fried rice I've ever had and she said she's making it for all of us."

White blinked and pointed at herself. "Me too?" she asked Red, who nodded. She smiled instantly. "Sweet! Thank you, Mom!"

Ethan laughed. "Yeah, thanks, Mom!" he quipped and ran ahead to help get the extra ingredients we needed to get.

Blue scowled. "Hey, don't run off by yourself! You don't even know what we need to get!" he scolded and ran after him.

White snickered. "Neither does he," she told Red, who rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You got a list?"

Red pulled out his pokegear and showed her the message his mother had sent him with a list of things she was missing and together, they went ahead into a separate isle to get what we needed for his mother to make dinner for us all. I frowned as I followed, jumping off of Red to walk behind the two of them.

He seemed to be far more relaxed with her than he had in the morning when we had walked with Brendan to the stadium. My tail swished side to side as I my thoughts built up again.

While I felt he and Leaf were extremely close, I'd never seen him act like this before. He was extremely patient as White spoke, telling him all about the different snacks we'd never tried and picked some up for us. If Leaf had spoken that much, he would have tuned her out by now or, more likely, leave her in the dust.

I huffed to myself as we went to the star-struck cashier and met with an arguing Blue and Ethan along the way. I noticed how Red stayed next to White and even carried the heavier items that she was going to buy for herself so she didn't have to.

What was this sudden act of chivalry I was witnessing from him? He wouldn't have cared if it was Leaf, he would've just let her carry it herself! It had barely been a couple days since we'd landed in Unova! Surely, he was just trying to become friends with someone! I watched the two some more as the cashier scanned their items for them and gulped my uneasy feelings down. There was nothing happening between the two of them, right?

…Right?

\---

We reached the hotel before it got too dark and met up with Black along the way and gladly took some of the bags that everyone was carrying. He didn't even look phased at all of the unnecessary junk food, instead he grinned when he spotted a particular bag of chips. "Those are my favorite! You guys'll love them!" he told us as we all piled into the elevator.

Blue suddenly smirked, glanced back at White and then back at him as the doors closed. "Her favorite color is purple," he said to him.

Black looked at his twin and burst into laughter as Ethan pressed his floor number to put his things away first. "What? Really?"

White immediately glared at Blue as her twin laughed hard. "Blue! I told you not to tell him!"

"I _told_ you I'd tell him! Not my fault for not believing me. Why is it such a bad thing?"

"I got a great story to tell you guys later," Black said and laughed some more through White's immediate and loud objection.

We stopped at Ethan's floor first so he could quickly shove everything he bought into the fridge and rushed out to squeeze into the elevator before the doors closed on him. White practically did the same thing and we were on our way to our own room.

I was ready for dinner and as soon as we entered the room, I was surprised to see Red's mother in the kitchen, getting everything ready. I wanted to know how she got in. We were the only ones with the key, weren't we? "Oh! Hello, everyone!" she said then smiled kindly. "I hope you all brought enough for everyone, Red can eat a whole buffet out of food."

Red scowled instantly as the others laughed.

"Yeah, we bought a lot," Ethan said as I jumped off of Red's shoulder and landed on the couch with ease.

"I can see that. Good thing you did, too, these empty cabinets were pretty sad." She then looked at Black and White. "You two are more than welcome to stay for dinner, consider it a Kanto special."

Black smiled brightly at the prospect of food. "That sounds awesome, I'm in!" he said and White nodded in agreement.

"As rowdy as these boys are, they're actually really fun to hang out with," she told Red's mother, who chuckled.

"Rowdy? I'm not rowdy! Explain that!" Ethan challenged.

She glanced back at him as she helped Red's mother gather everything she needed. "What is there to explain?"

Ethan looked puzzled, staring at her as he tenderly held the bag of chips Black had spotted before, in the middle of putting it away. Blue grinned, laughing as he said, "Don't hurt yourself, Ethan. I know thinking is hard."

Even Red was smiling as Ethan shot him an offended face.

"Hey!"

As they talked among each other, I glanced back at my trainer and sat down on the couch to stare at the blank television. I felt conflicted, I still wasn't on board to help Espeon and the others set the two trainers up, especially not this early.

On the other hand, getting them together might be a good thing. I ran a paw through my fur on the top of my head, glancing back at the humans. They didn't notice my internal struggle and I couldn't help but notice that Red and White were sitting next to each other as Black pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket.

I sat there silently for a long time before I grabbed one of the throw pillows on the couch and shoved my face into it to hide. I couldn't believe my own decision and I was sure I was going to regret it later.

Operation: Get A Date was a go.


	7. 3:28 A.M.

_Espeon_

It seems such a long time ago that I met Red, a young boy that was full of energy and curiosity while I was just a normal pet living with an older gentleman in Celadon City. I had never intended to become a battling pokemon, much less evolve into what I am today and to be honest, I was scared of everything outside of the cozy home I used to live in.

I had no idea where I was going and Ivysaur had a hard time trying to calm me down when I learned I was to become a part of a fighting team. My old human would never do such a thing with me! The first time I was called to a battle with Red, I froze in my panic and had no idea what to do as I shook like a leaf, too timid to even avoid a simple Tackle from a Rattata.

In order to avoid myself getting hurt, he sent Wartortle to finish the battle against a youngster and I was relieved that he wasn't angry at me when it was over. Instead, he encouraged me to gain more confidence in myself and told me he would first help me learn my own moves and then begin the real training with Pikachu, Charizard, Wartortle and Ivysaur. He had never doubted me even when I constantly doubted myself and my abilities.

I thought such a small pokemon like myself could go nowhere in the world, especially since I had been treated as a pet that had led a very comfortable life thus far. Granted, the pet life isn't bad. You were always pampered in a way battling or working pokemon weren't and the fatter you got, the cuter you were.

After two months of training with my new team, I realized that I didn't want to go back to that life.

I didn't want to have all day every day with nothing to do. Yes, it was nice to be pet and paid attention to, but for every single waking moment every day for the rest of my life? I loved seeing the untamed wilderness, meeting new people and relished the satisfaction whenever I defeated an opponent.

I slowly started to understand that I was truly meant for the battling lifestyle and thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of a fight. There was no doubt in my mind that I still loved my old human and occasionally I would wonder how he was doing and if he still took his pills on time but I would never go back.

With this new way of life, I formed my own family and sure all seven of us were completely different species and we each had our own personalities, hobbies, strengths, weaknesses and pet peeves, but the thing that stood out was that we were inseparable.

Every time someone in the family was having a hard time with something, we would do our best to cheer them up and help them get better. This most definitely included our human, who always took care of us and would pull all-nighters if one of us was sick just to make sure we got better but as of late he was the one who wasn't doing so well. He was too stubborn to admit that anything was wrong and held too much pride to talk to anyone about everything, not even to us.

He had always been like that though and no matter how many times he was told it was unhealthy to keep feelings bottled up for so long, he would keep everything to himself. I knew it was eating away at him slowly and if seeing Giovanni for the first time in years and running to our room to hide wasn't a good enough example, I don't know what was.

We could all tell he was still distracted by it and it bothered him enough to give him nightmares. Usually, those nightmares would come in spurts, sometimes only one night, sometimes for a few days and only twice had the dreams come for at least a month each. I'm sure Pikachu suspected something when he realized Red had barely gotten any sleep last night. Red would never admit that he would need to talk to someone about them and while Blastoise was convinced us being there was enough, I highly doubted it could stay that way forever.

Many years ago, when we realized he was plagued by nightmares and were the cause of his many sleepless nights, I was overjoyed to learn that there was something called a technical machine, or a TM, out there in the world that I could use to help our trainer. It just so happened Red had the device in his backpack, among many other TMs he wasn't using.

However, there was one major flaw to my plan: I couldn't learn Dream Eater unless I evolved.

No matter how many times I clicked on that button with my little paw, the move just wouldn't imprint itself into my brain and I cried when I found out. My crying at least woke Red up and freed from the dream, he was once again trying to help comfort me from my own misery.

Snorlax was the one who told me that there were two different evolutions I could take instead of the normal three to help him: one would be the dark-type Umbreon, where I could learn moves such as Confuse Ray and Assurance. The other choice was Espeon, where I could learn to communicate directly with my trainer and that alone outweighed any possibility of becoming Umbreon.

Once I made my decision, I was dead set on battling only during the morning and daytime, confusing my trainer greatly but he didn't object when I would jump out of my pokeball and take the place of whoever's pokeball he had in his hand or shoving Pikachu out of the way. Pikachu hadn't liked that and would get frustrated when Red wouldn't do anything to stop me. I still laugh thinking about it to this day.

The final battle against Giovanni hadn't been as horrible one as the battles in Saffron or even Celadon City, but with the way the two were battling against each other, it was clearly just a fight to assert dominance over the other and thankfully we won that battle. I had evolved into Espeon just after we earned our eighth and final gym badge, and as overjoyed as I was to have evolved, I still needed to teach myself Dream Eater as soon as I could.

We didn't even stay in the pokemon center that night, Red decided to keep moving towards Victory Road that very same night. We were halfway there when he finally decided to stop for the night, unable to keep his own eyes open for much longer. Once he had fallen asleep, I took the TM and taught myself Dream Eater while Charizard let himself out of his pokeball to share his warmth, engulfing the troubled boy into his wings when we sensed the nightmare coming instantly.

I promptly used the new move I had learned on our trainer as weak as I possibly could and smiled to myself when I heard Charizard give a grumble of approval. Red had fallen into a deeper slumber, horrible dreams forgotten as he caught up on much needed sleep while Charizard didn't let him out of his sight for the entire night and most of the following morning until he woke up.

I was happy I could finally do something for him instead of being just another pokemon on a battling team. I would always continue to try and help him and always stay by his side, especially if it meant helping him find friends and hopefully get closer with a certain trainer from Unova.

I fully intended to get Operation: Get A Date's first step in the plan rolling as soon as possible.

\---

It was late when everyone left Red's room to retire for the night. His mother was the last one out and she gave him a tight hug. She bid him good night and told him to get some rest before she closed the door behind her. As soon as the door was closed, Red let out a long, exhausted sigh and didn't even bother to mask his fatigue. He hadn't slept well last night and looked ready to pass out in bed at any second. Without another word after locking the door, he wandered to the bedroom and as soon as he kicked off his shoes, took off his vest and hat, he sank into the sheets and pulled the quilt over his shoulders.

I watched him for a moment and after hearing the unmistakable sounds of him sleeping not even a minute later, I gently closed the door with my psychic abilities. Once the door was closed, I spun around quickly to face the rest of the boys with a wide grin plastered onto my face. I could sense the others sudden caution without even looking at them. They never trusted my ideas or plans, even if they worked.

I sauntered towards them, jumped up and sat on the back of the couch. _"We need to find a way for Red to notice White,"_ I said. My tail flicked slightly and I glanced back at Charizard as he frowned with displeasure. _"What's the matter?"_

 _"It isn't a good idea,"_ he answered. _"We stay out of her business and she'll stay out of ours."_

I rolled my eyes. Trust Charizard to stay away from anyone that wasn't Red, Blue, Leaf, Ethan or Red's mother. _"Everything will be okay, Charizard, I promise!"_

 _"Every time you say that, something happens that lands us all in trouble,"_ Blastoise mumbled from the side.

_"Did you guys really not see White staring at him the entire time we were at the beach?"_

I glanced at Pikachu and realized he hadn't until I had said something to him and Jolteon. He'd been too busy playing in the sand and having the time of his life to notice any sort of connection between the humans.

Ampharos was right: like pokemon, like trainer.

For now, he looked hesitant and then finally he said, _"We went grocery shopping earlier to get dinner supplies and he stayed with her the entire time. Blue and Ethan were doing their own thing and Red seemed… really weird."_

That intrigued me and I tilted my head slightly as I thought. _"Seemed really weird how?"_

 _"She was talking a lot, like Leaf a lot, but he didn't try to run away. He didn't even look annoyed!"_ He looked at me. _"I think he knows something's up. He suspected something ever since Blue told us that she was asking questions about him."_

This was perfect! The inner match maker in me squealed and I couldn't help but try to get some of that excitement out. _"So, you think he's already beginning to like her? Like, like her?"_

_"I don't know!"_

I cackled and pretended that I didn't see the boys' alarmed faces and scurry a little bit away from me. I had no idea that happened! This would just make O.G.A.D. go by faster than expected! Maybe we'd even complete the mission before our tournament started!

I coughed into my paw to calm myself and sat back down, but the smile never left my face. I was excited about this but for now we couldn't do anything except tell the others about the plan. _"Exciting new revelations aside, Blue and Ethan's teams have agreed to help keep them away for a little bit when needed."_

 _"The teams meaning Pidgeot and Ampharos, right?"_ Snorlax asked.

 _"Ampharos, Mienshao and Zebstrika,"_ I clarified. I huffed at Blastoise when he rolled his eyes at me and I stomped a paw onto the couch to get their attentions again. _"Jolteon and Pikachu were there too!"_ I looked at Pikachu quickly. _"Right, Pikachu?"_

The others looked at him with disbelief and Pikachu sheepishly nodded. _"I was coerced into it!"_ he tried to defend.

 _"Mm-hm,"_ Venusaur mumbled but he didn't sound like he fully believed him if that amused look in his eyes told me anything.

Charizard remained quiet but if I hadn't known any better, he looked upset with Pikachu.

I almost felt guilty but Pikachu looked at the others confidently and told them, _"I have seen them together. She is really nice. She's patient and said Red, Ethan and Blue were fun to hang out with when we had dinner with Red's mom."_

Charizard finally spoke up, lifting his head from his spot. _"A few days is not enough to get to know her very well,"_ he said and we all looked at him. _"Why are you trying so hard to get them together? They will both be upset when it comes time for us to return to Kanto."_

I noticed he wasn't the only one that looked to me for an answer.

 _"Long-distance relationships have worked out before,"_ I answered with a shrug. _"It doesn't hurt to try. The worst she can say is 'no' and we remain friends with her."_

Snorlax grumbled something to himself. He scratched his belly fur then steeled himself as he turned his head to me and asked, _"Then what do you propose we do?"_

I smiled and felt like I had won the lottery. I knew that if Snorlax agreed with me, then the others were sure to follow! Charizard still didn't look convinced and grumpily tucked his head back into his wings for the night. Eh, I'd get him later.

I turned to the others, making sure they were all listening. I knew exactly what we had to do. _"We impose O.G.A.D."_

Venusaur looked at me, confused. _"O.G.A.D.?"_ he finally asked.

 _"Ugh, here we go,"_ Pikachu mumbled. He quickly wandered off to the other side of the couch, wanting to watch television.

I snickered at him then I explained to the others what we had discussed on the beach. The only one who didn't like it was Charizard but that was expected. It would just take more convincing for him to realize this wasn't a bad idea!

I went to sleep that night excited about getting our plan rolling.

At least, that's what I had hoped we could do the next morning but it wasn't meant to be.

The weekend was full of training and we didn't let up for hours on end and paused only for meals. The weekend passed by so fast because of that, we hardly had time to go over the first step in the plan to get Red and White together. If we weren't training or eating, we were sleeping or complaining about being sore. Red had told us it was to make up for the lost time over the last few days and while I couldn't blame him, he could've held back at least a little bit! I could barely feel my tail by the end of the day on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday produced the same exhaustion at the end of the day on Wednesday, he told us we were finally going to rest a couple of days before going back to training.

Thankfully, we hardly had any interruptions over the course of the intense training. Blue and Ethan smartly left us alone in the middle of our training sessions and we saw nothing of White, Brendan or anyone else for that matter. I wanted to believe that they, too, were in the middle of their own training to prepare for our upcoming tournament.

On Wednesday night, I flopped onto my stomach, groaning in agony. Everything hurt—I was sore, exhausted and I couldn't even feel my tail. I didn't need to look at the others that they were in the same boat. The only one who kept quiet about it was Venusaur, but I could see how tired he was when he let out a relieved sigh as soon as he was laying down next to the windows while the petals on his back drooped slightly. Even Charizard had groaned about his wings feeling like they would fall off at any moment.

I glanced up as Red pulled out his pokegear, typing out a few things with a small smile on his face that formed. I flicked my ears a bit. Why was he smiling? Who was he messaging? I got off of the floor and quickly jumped onto the couch beside him. He looked up and he quickly turned the screen off so I couldn't pry. It was frustrating when he seemed to know what we were up to. I felt the gem on my head warm a bit as it shined with my ability. _"Why're you smiling?"_ I asked him curiously.

He shook his head instead of saying anything and set the pokegear down on the cushion beside him.

 _"There has to be some reason!"_ I tried to tell him.

 _"You don't have to know everything, nosey,"_ Pikachu told me and ignored me when I stuck my tongue out at him.

_"I call it genuine curiosity."_

Red rolled his eyes at us. "I'm just messaging someone, that's all," he answered.

I blinked now and my tail twitched a little. He never texted anyone back unless it was Leaf, his mother or, on the rare occasion, Blue. It had to be one of them, right?

Snorlax seemed curious as well, his large paw full of food as he sat behind the couch to try and peer at the dark screen as well. _"Who is this someone?"_ he asked then stuffed the food into his mouth.

Our trainer looked between everyone when he realized we were all staring at him, expecting an answer. The only sound in the room was Snorlax's chewing until he sighed at us. "Is nothing sacred in this place?" I rolled my eyes at him. Red could be such a drama queen. "I'm texting Brendan."

 _"Since when did you get Brendan's number?"_ Pikachu blurted. If he didn't know, I was surprised. He was out of his pokeball all the time and for him not to see that, I wondered what else Red was doing without us noticing. Unless he had snuck out when we were all sleeping, I had never seen him exchange numbers with the Hoenn champion or anyone else, for that matter.

Red just shrugged. Something was suspicious and I narrowed my eyes at him. He wouldn't just be chatting with Brendan, not with that kind of defensiveness. Was he lying to us? What reason would he have to do that?

Now I could have just gone into his mind to pry but respecting his privacy, I just accepted it and stretched out across his lap and gratefully accepted the pets I was getting. I guess my time as a pet still hadn't completely gone away.

Pikachu was staring at me expectantly, assuming I was going to read our trainer's mind. I just shook my head once and he groaned with exasperation before he jumped off the couch to get a drink from the bowl of water in the kitchen all the while mumbling, _"Now she chooses not to be a mind-reader. Perfect. Wonderful."_

There was one thing that I loved to do: annoy Pikachu. If not knowing who Red was texting infuriated him, then I would gladly not read his mind or try to see what he was doing on the pokegear in his hands in order to aggravate the little pokemon. I snickered and Red glanced at me but with a scratch under my chin, I was purring all over again. I really did love the attention.

A quiet and peaceful night passed before the others started to fall asleep near midnight and quietly, Red turned the television off and got up himself to get ready for bed. I yawned and watched as Pikachu snored away on the loveseat in a tight little ball. The only other one who wasn't asleep yet was Charizard, but he never slept if Red was still up. The large fire-type really was overprotective of our trainer and as much as he denied it, I thought it was cute.

I jumped onto the sheets as Red climbed in, stretching out on the other side of the large bed. Normally, Pikachu would also be here but he was dreaming away on the loveseat without a care in the world. If he woke up later in the night, I wouldn't be surprised if he found his way to join us. I lay there stretched out with my eyes closed until I fell asleep, the exhaustion from training finally claiming me.

I had a single dream that night that simply involved the peak of Mount Silver, our home away from home. I believed it was my conscious telling me that I was homesick despite being away for a week. I dreamed of rolling around in the snow again, snowball fights with Pikachu and Blastoise or making snowmen with Venusaur. Flying with Charizard on the rare days when the sun would peek through the thick clouds was always refreshing and at night, he and Snorlax would keep us all warm, no matter how cold it would get.

My peaceful dream was interrupted by a loud noise and at first, I thought it was because of something happening in my dream but when it continued and I was awake, I blearily rose my head. Red's pokegear was ringing, the shrill sound echoing through the room and no doubt waking the others up as well.

Red made no move at first to deal with it but it faded by itself. At first, I thought that was it yet when it started to ring again, I glared at the device through sleep-deprived eyes and Red managed to reach over to see who was calling. I assumed it wasn't anything important since he simply declined the call and I glanced at the now fixed alarm clock on the nightstand. I frowned deeply when I read 3:28 A.M _._ Who in the world was trying to call us at 3:28 in the Arceus-forsaken morning?

We had no intentions of getting woken up at 3:28. I _clearly_ remember the alarm Red set was for 7:30.

Our human groaned and tossed in his sheets when it rang again, its piercing tone making Pikachu whine loudly from the living room. With his eyes still closed, Red tried twice to turn it off and miserably failed. I was the one who turned it off for him and his arm went slack instantly, flopped down onto the sheets and tried to get back to sleep until it went off a fourth and final time.

Red finally sat up, looking annoyed and borderline pissed as he sat up a little and glared at the little screen as he read whatever number was on it. I could've sworn that if they could, his eyes would be glowing a bright red with hatred.

While he looked tempted to throw the thing across the room, he was at least responsible enough to just turn off and set it back down next to the alarm clock. He then double checked the alarm and finally fell back into the pillows. He sighed as he buried his head into it and I rolled into his side, accepting the gentle scratches as he tried to get back to sleep.

Whatever that was about, we had yet another interruption before we could even begin to relax. There was a single hard knock at the door and I knew everyone else was starting to get irritated as well. I heard Snorlax whine about something from the living room and finally after the second knock, Red sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed and forced himself to the door. Whoever was trying to get a hold of him was starting to piss us all off.

I yawned and sat up, deciding to follow him until I froze when I sensed a distinct aura at the door. I could recognize it anywhere, no matter where we were. Panic flared up in me and I looked at Red as he turned the doorknob, too tired to check the peep hole, and cried out, _"Don't open it!"_

The others looked at me with alarm at my tone, now wide awake as they got to their feet.

It was too late and the door was already opened. As soon as he saw who was standing behind the door, Red's eyes visibly widened and was about to slam it shut when a shoe caught it at the last second. "I would not come to you like this if it wasn't important," a gruff voice said and upon hearing the voice, Charizard was snarling.

Giovanni, clad in what was obviously pajamas, easily overpowered Red as he forced the door open a bit more. I was beside Red's feet loyally as he stumbled back a few steps to get out of arm's reach, hissing as I glared at the man and Pikachu was at his other side, his cheeks sparking as he gave off his best snarl as well. I honestly hadn't expected to see him, we had been avoiding him wherever possible. I could sense Red's anxiety skyrocket and was proud since he did a damn good job of hiding it from Giovanni as he narrowed his eyes at him.

Giovanni couldn't see the others, but he could obviously hear the various growls as he remained where he was. "You are the one who did not answer your pokegear, otherwise I would not be here at this ridiculous hour." How he even got Red's number was a mystery to me, even now. The gem on my head was glowing, ready to throw him away from us if he tried anything.

He kept his dark eyes on Red, completely ignoring us pokemon now. "I am not here to fight you," he said as calmly as he could. "I am here to warn you; I was visited by three people who claimed to be their king's right-hand men just now. I don't know how they got in, but they asked if Team Rocket could help them with something."

The snarls and hisses increased and he finally glanced at us, almost nervous that we would suddenly pounce on him. Venusaur even had his thick vines out and flower wide open, ready to attack Giovanni if need be and I was positive that smell leaking from his back was the start of a gruesome Poison Powder. If it wasn't for Red blocking the way, I'm certain our four largest teammates would have crushed the human in an instant.

He returned his eyes to Red. "Of course, I declined. Team Rocket is no more. I disbanded them when you won the Earth Badge."

Red didn't relax and said nothing, keeping a close watch on the man in front of us. Hatred was coming out of every pore from his body and he struggled to contain it but just like I was, he was confused. Why was Giovanni telling us this? Why should we care what happened to him in the middle of the night?

"I have a feeling that will not be the last time I hear of them. If they are asking aid from Team Rocket, then there is no doubt they are seeking others for help for whatever they want." I frowned as he turned around. "I warn you now: be careful while we are here. Don't do anything stupid."

It sounded so strange hearing that from Giovanni but that didn't calm any of us even as he walked away out of sight.

My trainer glared at the man's back until he disappeared into the elevator and when he had finally gone, Charizard stopped growling and the electric sparks from Pikachu disappeared and the rest of us followed suit quickly. Red closed the door firmly and locked it but he made no move to go back to bed for at least a full minute. He took a deep breath to calm himself and went back to the bedroom and I was right beside him, sensing just as well as the rest of us his troubled state of mind. I was positive he wasn't going back to sleep tonight. So much for a few peaceful nights.

All of us managed to squeeze into the large room—although it was a tight squeeze—and I said nothing when he sat down on the edge of the bed. Charizard nudged his chest gently with his snout, trying to distract him from whatever thoughts he was having. He knew the perfect way to get Red's mind off of troubling thoughts any time; sure, we all had our ways to comfort our human, but sometimes it obviously wouldn't work.

Luckily, the large fire-type managed to push through to Red enough to get him to at least pet him. This time was no different as he patted his muzzle, causing a gentle growl come from the large lizard.

Eventually, the others fell back to sleep surrounding and on the bed. I was surprised to see that Blastoise had gotten onto the bed and with plenty of room, he kept himself between Red and the door though I stayed up with Red as he stared at the ceiling, clear that he was deep in thought. He occasionally reached over to pet me as I nestled into his side where it was warmest and Pikachu was on his other side, though he was out cold, small snores coming in a repeated fashion. For some reason, it was mesmerizing and it lulled me into a light sleep without me even realizing it.

I was surprised when the next sound I heard was the alarm going off and while I usually got up early, I wanted to sleep in to make up for the lack of rest we all didn't get.

It quickly disappeared and I noticed Red's spot in the bed was gone and it was Pikachu that had turned off the alarm—thankfully he had learned how after he broke the first alarm clock.

He yawned and I stretched just like a persian would, front to back to get every stiff muscle loose again then shook out my fur once I was done. Snorlax was sitting up at least and just like Red usually would be when he first woke up in the mornings, he had a dopey look on his face as he scratched himself with a yawn. Blastoise had to wake Venusaur, much to the grass-type's displeasure.

That's when I noticed Red and Charizard were gone and the balcony door in the living room was open. It made me wonder when they'd gone out for a flight and when they would be back but with a sigh, I got up and went into the living room. _"When did Charizard and Red leave?"_ I asked.

 _"About two hours ago,"_ Snorlax answered with another large yawn.

Did that mean Charizard and Red had been up the entire night? With maybe two hours of sleep total, those two would be grumpy and irritable all day. I was worried that Snorlax had remained awake too, but maybe he had at least gotten a nap in. He seemed tired and suddenly I was grateful for the rest day we had planned.

I frowned to myself as I sat out on the balcony to await Red and Charizard's return. I knew we had to tell someone about our little night visitor. Red's mother was out of the question, she would just worry herself sick, while Lance was a viable option. I wasn't sure if we would go see him, he was the one who knew about Giovanni being here in the first place and didn't even think to tell us. Bitter about it, I pushed him aside.

Blue was a possibility. While he didn't directly help take down Team Rocket, he knew what they were capable of and he understood the after effects but most of all, he understood Red himself.

On the other hand, Ethan seemed to be the best choice of all three. He took down Team Rocket when they tried to resurface four years ago and even though he didn't talk about it much, I knew it bothered him as well. He would understand the urgency the most out of anyone and being stronger than both Lance and Blue, we'd be able to stop whoever had visited Giovanni in a heartbeat.

All of them would no doubt be alarmed but I wouldn't be surprised if Red didn't want to tell anyone. I sighed to myself when I realized he would likely remain quiet on the issue. My trainer was stubborn and set in his ways. My eyes drifted towards the clear morning sky and widened when I had a sudden epiphany.

What if we told White?

Not only would this allow Red to get something off his chest to someone that wasn't Blue or Ethan, I was positive it would get the two of them closer together. O.G.A.D. had to start somehow! As grim as the situation would be, from what I'd seen of her she would listen without judgement. I was positive that she would understand; she wasn't the kind of person to run around and tell everyone and gossip about our problems.

I spotted Red and Charizard in the distance flying back and I smiled. I sincerely hoped Red would talk to someone—anyone about what happened last night. I truly hoped that person would be White.

As the dot in the sky became larger as they neared the hotel, I looked down towards the city below us. There was a strange feeling that pricked at the back of my mind but when I tried to see what caused that feeling, I sensed nothing. A frown replaced my smile and I looked through all the rooftops I could see from the balcony. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, not until I saw something standing still that hadn't been there before.

A red, silver and black pokemon was standing on the roof of a building not too far from ours but it quickly noticed it had been spotted and turned to flee. Reaching out with my psychic abilities, I tried to get it to stop but winced when nothing worked. _A dark-type._

I scowled when I realized this and watched it jump into the alley beside the building. Unable to do anything unless I wanted to jump to my death, I continued to stare at the roof when Red and Charizard landed. I hadn't moved from my spot, too focused on trying to find anything else watching us. Red looked at me and then turned his eyes in the direction where I had seen the pokemon. When he saw nothing, he motioned with his head for me to get inside and I obeyed willingly.

What was going on? First Giovanni came in the middle of the night to warn us and then just now with that pokemon. It spooked me, something had been watching us, otherwise it wouldn't have run away when it had been seen. Was it a reporter's pokemon trying to sneak pictures for their tabloids? For some reason, I didn't think that was the case.

Pikachu sensed my unease first when I stayed near a window without the balcony so I could see the world below. _"Espeon? What's wrong?"_ he asked, coming to my side.

I was quiet for a while before I glanced at him. The gem on my forehead glowed, ensuring Red would be able to hear me as well. _"We're being watched."_

From the living room, Red looked at me sharply and the others glanced between each other.

I headed into the living room, quickly using my psychic abilities to close the curtains. It was better safe than sorry, even if the offending pokemon was long gone. _"Something was watching the room before you and Charizard flew back,"_ I told Red. _"It ran away when it noticed I saw it."_

He seemed to be instantly troubled by that, remaining quiet as Blastoise said, _"It could've been a fan or a wild pokemon."_

I frowned and shook my head. _"Wild pokemon don't just run away when someone looks at them."_

 _"I would have,"_ Pikachu told me. He was the only one on the team that had truly been a wild pokemon so maybe it was true, but his nervousness told me otherwise.

Charizard was frowning as he listened and glanced at Snorlax as he tapped his claws on his belly. _"Do you know what it looked like?"_ he asked.

I shook my head. _"All I saw was it was red, silver and black. Definitely a dark-type because I couldn't grab it and only knew it was there until I saw it."_

There was a sudden knock on the door and we all stiffened and snapped our heads to the door. None of us wanted a repeat of last night and when I sensed Red's mother, I instantly felt relieved. Everyone else looked at me and I gave them a nod to let them know it was okay to open it this time. Without any more hesitation, Red went to the door and jumped when his mother stepped in quickly.

He was immediately smothered into a tight hug by her and I heard Venusaur chuckle as Red stumbled from the sudden weight but hugged her back despite his confusion. I kept the door open using Psychic; I didn't want the door to smash into Red or his mother's faces.

She chuckled as she looked up at him with a large smile, looking rather relaxed. "Good morning, Red!" she said. "I'm leaving for a wine tour so I expect you to behave until I get back. There's so many wineries to choose from, all over Unova! We should come here more often, Red, Unova has an excellent brewery nearby that I took a tour of yesterday—"

"Mom, what are you—" Red tried but gave up when she kept talking.

"—but I couldn't just pick one, so I bought three cases of different kinds! The girls and I will celebrate after the tournament is over though."

He blinked and looked up, only now noticing the two ladies standing behind the doorway. He waved meekly at them, looking embarrassed already.

His mother looked around his room, spotting the dishes in the sink and the dirty clothes draped over the back of the couch. "You know, I tell this kid to clean his room and look, he still doesn't do it. Even Blastoise tries to get him to clean."

Red's face was instantly flushed with embarrassment as Blastoise bobbed his head up and down and if given the chance, I knew Red would hide his face from everyone as the two women snickered from outside the door. I was surprised to see Cynthia and Diantha. They both seemed to be incredibly amused by their interaction and gave us kind smiles.

"Don't mind us, we are all heading out soon but she wanted to say good-bye until tonight," Diantha explained.

Red nodded once at her. I wasn't the only one grateful to know that she was in safe hands.

He then looked at his mother as she smiled at him again and then turned towards the two other champions and asked, "Did I tell you about the story of Machoke Man?"

"Mom, please don't," Red instantly begged, causing the ladies to laugh hard at his reaction. I smiled as Red's mother decided to continue to embarrass him in front of the other two.

"He was also obsessed over Digging with Diglett when he was a little kid."

"Oh, but that's such a cute kid's show, isn't it?" Cynthia said and smirked as Red's face grew, well, red.

"Or that his favorite pokemon was Clefairy?"

Red clearly felt humiliated, nearly pushing his mother out of his room. "Out!" he said, flustered as the women laughed and down the hall loudly.

"Get some sleep, honey, you look like you need it! And eat some breakfast! I'll know if you don't! None of that sugary crap!" I heard his mother tell him before the three ladies went into the elevator.

He groaned when he closed the door and rubbed his face and shot a glare at the team as most of us laughed with his mother and the champions. He recalled most of the team, allowing them to sleep. When he looked to me, I shook my head. As tired as I was, I wanted to walk around for a while and didn't feel like sitting in my pokeball.

As we ate breakfast like she told us to in the cafeteria, Red was completely distracted by his thoughts, the look of full concentration on his face as he stared at his half-full plate. I didn't have to read his mind to know what he was thinking about. I glanced at Pikachu and he returned the worried glance, but we both looked up when we heard Red's name being called.

Blue and Ethan were suddenly on either side of him and he flinched their trays landed on the table. "You're easy to scare," Ethan teased with a grin as Red scowled. "What are you doing anyway? I called your name a few times and you were just staring at your food."

"He was staring at his food because he didn't want to look at your ugly mug," Blue teased as he stabbed his fork into a piece of cantaloupe.

"I am not ugly. Everyone loves this face!" Ethan winked. "That's why I get so many phone numbers."

"Phone numbers from who? Little old ladies that want someone to mow their lawn?"

"No!"

Red narrowed his eyes at them as he slowly grew irritated. Not wanting to risk getting Thundershock from Pikachu so early in the morning, both stopped their argument to begin eating. "I saw your mom head out with Cynthia and Diantha, by the way," Blue stated and Red groaned, nodding once and Blue grinned. "Did she start telling them stories?"

"More than one, I hope!" Ethan added with a smile of his own.

Pikachu snickered from beside me. He was certainly happy to hear more stories of our trainer's childhood. I believed that if he had a notebook full of Red's most embarrassing moments and every story his mother told, he would fill the pages with as much content as he could get.

I saw White enter in the dining hall, however, she abandoned her brother to sit at the table with us, letting him wander off to sit with Iris, Rosa and Nate as they wandered in with sleep still in their eyes. She grinned mischievously. "Your mom is really, really nice. She told me you used to run around outside with just your underwear on and a blanket to pretend you were flying," she said and Red groaned again, this time loudly as he dropped the fork to rub his face. She laughed with Blue and Ethan. "She said like three times that you used to call yourself Machoke Man or something, too."

I hadn't meant to, but I heard his thoughts say, _Arceus, Mom will never let that up, will she?_

 _"Nope. But we all think it's a good story,"_ I answered and smiled as he rolled his eyes.

As Blue, Ethan and White talked amongst themselves, I felt the slight change in his mind, causing me to lose the smile. _I know it's bothering you too._

He was right. I was still bothered by the fact something had been watching us. I sighed, glancing at my bowl again. At this point, O.G.A.D. could wait. Something stalking us took precedence over any dating operations. _"Maybe it's a pokemon native to this region. Ask White to see her pokedex, maybe she has something scanned in it that will tell us something,"_ I answered.

He glanced at me and then at White, who stopped talking to blink as he asked seriously, "Can I see your pokedex?"

She slowly nodded and said, "My pokedex? Um… sure, I guess."

Blue was staring at Red with disbelief, shocked he would say even one word to someone he barely knew. Ethan was likewise startled but he said nothing about it as White handed Red the pokedex.

"Can I ask why do you need it?"

Red didn't answer her and allowed me to jump into his lap so he could flip through the entries. There were so many new pokemon it boggled my mind, but I squinted suddenly when I recognized a couple entries. While it could have been either one, the taller one was the most likely suspect since it stood taller than its pre-evolution.

He read the details, then handed it back to White, who was still confused along with the other two. Ethan leaned over to peer at it. "Bisharp? That looks like a really cool pokemon, but why that one?" he asked and looked at Red as he frowned, looking at me as I nodded once. "What? Hey, Red, where are you going?"

Red had gotten up and left his mostly-full tray while Pikachu and I followed him out the door with Blue running after him with Ethan not too far behind. "Red, what happened? You usually don't act like this unless something happened," Blue said as Ethan stopped beside them.

 _"There was a pokemon that was watching us,"_ I explained for him as White came over as well and naturally her brother followed with concern. _"We didn't know what it was, but now we know it was a Bisharp."_

"Why would it watch you?" Ethan asked, puzzled.

Black frowned deeply and looked at White. They seemed paler than normal and I felt a pit in my stomach grow. That wasn't a good sign.

"Probably because of us," White said softly and we all looked at her with confusion.

"Why would it watch Red because of you two?" Blue wondered.

White was frowning, her face dead serious as she shifted uncomfortably and silently.

Black was the one who spoke up. "Have you ever heard of Team Plasma?"


	8. The Search

_Pikachu_

Everyone and everything has its own fair share of problems out there in the world. Our main problem most of the time was figuring out what to eat on our icy mountain—food was scarce on the icy tip and the trips from the nearest grocery store and back wasn't exactly easy and the berries in the forest that surrounded the mountain were always hunted by other wild pokemon as well. Team Rocket had been a far more serious issue, threatening the entirety of Kanto until we were able to defeat them and then again in Johto, where they were also stopped but that time by Ethan.

At first, we and the rest of Kanto thought that they were nothing but a nuisance, always showing up randomly for no reason and trying to steal pokemon from trainers. There would be the occasional news story about a member stealing rare fossils, breaking and entering a few houses, or trying to recruit new members on the Nugget Bridge and no one batted an eye. After all, that sort of thing happened all the time.

Before anyone realized it, the nuisance suddenly became a problem when we discovered their secret base of operations in Celadon City. We thought they couldn't get worse but then we were shown what they had been truly capable of at the Silph Co. building. After that, however, Team Rocket fell rapidly from there and Kanto was freed from the team's iron grasp.

Unova's problem was clearly Team Plasma, whoever they were. When first mentioned, Blue, Red and Ethan all had blank faces, clueless as they looked between each other and shook their heads before looking at the siblings one more time. None of us knew who they were, we'd never even heard of Team Plasma before so as they looked at Black and White again, I took my normal spot on Red's shoulder to see the human's confused reactions and to better listen what they were telling each other.

"Team Plasma?" Ethan asked curiously. "Who are they? What happened?"

Black and White looked at each other for a moment, disbelief obvious in their faces. Had they really expected us all to know who they were before coming?

White sighed and explained, "When we first started on our journey, there was this guy named Ghetsis that was speaking to people in Accumula Town. He was trying to convince people to let their pokemon go, free them and they would be happy as could be, something along those lines. Some people did it, some people didn't, and they were the smart ones. Long story short, he ended up being the true leader of Team Plasma and the only reason why he wanted people to let their pokemon go was for him to have total control over Unova."

I rolled my eyes. That sounded so original. From the corner of my eye, I saw Espeon roll her eyes. Why did criminal organizations think that ruling the world was such a good idea?

"Ghetsis also has an adopted son," Black continued, frowning. "His name is N and he was trying to raise him to become the king, but he wanted to pull all the strings. Now N… he has a special ability to 'hear' what pokemon are actually saying." He glanced down at Espeon and she blinked slightly at him.

Espeon stirred uneasily at the thought as her ears flicked once. _"What does he mean by that?"_ she asked me and I shrugged.

"He can understand pokemon, converse with them without the use of a psychic-type pokemon and Ghetsis used that to his advantage."

Espeon and I shared a look. A human understanding us through Espeon's abilities were normal to us, but if they were somehow able to understand without the need for her abilities, it was disturbing. Whether or not this N guy was a psychic, I shuddered when I remembered Sabrina. She was creepy enough and after that intriguing experience, I'm happy Red wasn't in any way, shape or form telekinetic.

"So where are you going with this?" Blue asked impatiently. "What does Team Plasma have to do with you and a pokemon watching Red's hotel room and this guy?"

I nodded as well, looking at the siblings expectantly. I really wanted to know why as well and I felt Red tense a bit in his own anxiousness.

"We're getting there!" White retorted. Blue scowled at her but she ignored the look. "So, N managed to leave Team Plasma after discovering what Ghetsis was planning but because of all that psychological bullshit he was put through as a kid, he can still be kind of creepy. Don't get me wrong, he's a really good guy and he's really nice, but he has zero social skills and prefers to keep pokemon as company."

Black nodded. "All he wanted was to be best friends with us and that I don't mind, we're friends now but before he left Team Plasma, he would send the Shadow Triad to use their pokemon as spies to watch us on our journey."

"They're creepy too, by the way," his sister said to us. "He didn't really understand that friendship doesn't mean spying on them."

"Plus, when we battled the last time, I think he was staring at White the entire time instead of our battle itself." He ignored White's instant furious face. "She was losing her temper at the time because she was too frustrated to say anything. Come to think of it, Cheren and Alder had to hold her back from literally running to him and punching him."

White huffed. "Shut up, Black!"

"Who are the Shadow Triad?" Ethan asked, trying to get them back on track. I was silently grateful that he could be serious when the situation called for it.

"They are the ones that probably sent out that Bisharp," Black added, looking at Red and I. "It is possible they just want to know more about the other champions from different regions."

"You think he sent them then?"

"I mean, it's a possibility, but they also follow Ghetsis," White answered.

Blue crossed his arms across his chest. "What if it isn't them, then? If they wanted to know more about other champions, they would be sending Bisharp to watch everyone, right?"

"Then be glad it isn't them." She frowned and looked at Red. "But if you do see it again, don't go towards it. We all might be really strong trainers and could overpower any of them in a battle, but they have ways around that. The Shadow Triad are very dangerous."

I could see Black avoiding eye contact with us now and watched as he subconsciously rubbed his wrist. He looked suddenly nervous but he quickly removed his hand from his wrist as his sister continued.

"When he found out N wasn't going to keep going with his plans, he disowned him and naturally tried to kill us," White then added nonchalantly, as if it had been an everyday occurrence.

"Thankfully, we beat him and he fled. When he came up again, Rosa and Nate stopped him and he went crazy," Black said.

"He went crazy?" Ethan interrupted.

She nodded. "Woobat-shit crazy and the Shadow Triad followed him."

Black sighed. "Team Plasma tried coming back as Neo Team Plasma but they also failed at the whole world domination thing. Then Ghetsis tried killing Rosa using Kyurem, but thankfully, N saved her and she survived." I felt Red shudder a little. It wasn't news that Giovanni tried killing us a long time ago as well and I patted his shoulder in sympathy as well as to get his mind off of the past. Attempted murder seemed like a popular theme with these teams.

"What's Kyurem?" Ethan asked and Black smiled at him.

"Kyurem is a legendary pokemon," he replied.

Blue whistled. "That's something I would like to see." I would too. Legendary pokemon weren't called legendary for nothing. Even Mewtwo had been difficult to take down and he wasn't even a 'true' legendary, as Articuno had told us. I wouldn't tell her that Mewtwo had been far more difficult to take down than her or the other two legendary birds, that would just offend her and she'd probably freeze us to death. I shuddered thinking about it.

White smiled and nodded. "Kyurem is pretty cool. If you ask Nate or Rosa, I'm sure that they'll let you see it."

"Let us see it?" Ethan asked inquisitively, an excited look on his face. "You mean they became friends with it or something?"

"Something like that."

As curious as I was, I decided to ignore him to keep listening to Black when he said, "Anyway, Nate said that the Shadow Triad still fully believed that N was still their king and they were looking for him on their journey parading as the king's ninjas or whatever, but they still went with Ghetsis after Nate and Rosa did their thing and finally abandoned N."

He shrugged casually however I think Red forgot how to breathe and I knew exactly why since I found it hard to breathe as well. Espeon looked up at us instantly, realization dawning up on all of us.

The gravely low voice of Giovanni repeated in our minds and I'm certain Espeon was the one who repeated to us with her abilities and her near-perfect memory instead of my own, _"I am here to warn you; I was visited by three people who claimed to be their king's right-hand men just now. I don't know how they got in, but they asked if Team Rocket could help them with something."_

What a wonderfully eventful first real week this was turning out to be.

Red looked at Espeon and I, then frowned again in quiet thought before turning his eyes back to the others when they stared at him, noticing his strange and silent behavior. Blue was concerned, putting a hand on his empty shoulder to catch his attention. "Red? Are you all right? And I don't want to hear it from Espeon, either," he said and Espeon huffed, puffing her chest out. It was obvious she wanted to bite his ankles but decided against it as Red took a hesitated breath.

"No," he finally said but the others frowned when no other explanation was given.

"If you're scared it's okay," Ethan said sincerely, truly worried.

Red shot him one of his famous glares and Ethan gulped.

"Okay, okay, not scared, don't give me the look again, please."

Red picked me up off of his shoulder to hold me in his arms and I glanced up at him as he scratched my fur. If he had nothing else to do with his hands, he always had to find something to fight off worry and nervousness, and both feelings were pouring off of him steadily with a river of confusion.

Ethan seemed confused still and timidly asked, "Then… what happened?"

White seemed worried, looking at her brother with a perplexed face, who shrugged quietly as he waited for an answer.

When Red didn't say anything for a while and the frown returned alongside distant eyes, Blue seemed to recognize the look Red subconsciously gave and answered for him, "Giovanni?" Red nodded and looked at Blue as he cursed loudly. "Arceus damn him! What did he do this time?"

"Nothing," my trainer said.

"Nothing? Giovanni did nothing?" Blue blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Red gave a quiet groan, not wanting to say anything more than he had already. "He came to my room last night to warn me of people who asked Team Rocket to join their cause. He said they claimed to be their 'king's right-hand men.'"

"But… Team Rocket's gone, disbanded twice," Ethan finally said, quickly over his fear of Red's glares. "I got rid of their attempt to come back in Johto."

"And we haven't heard from them since," Blue added before looking at the confused Black and White when they started questioning us about Team Rocket.

"What's Team Rocket?" Black asked. Then I heard him mutter to himself, "And why do they both think they're teams?"

"Who's Giovanni?" White said.

"Tell you later," Blue answered instead of explaining, looking at Ethan as he rubbed his head.

White didn't like that and her temper flared up instantly. "Hey! We told you what Team Plasma is, and even went into specifics, so you should at least tell us who Team Rocket is!" she retorted loudly, her hands in tight, angered fists.

"We'll tell you about it later!" he repeated stubbornly. Blue looked at Red as he completely ignored White's seething glares.

I rolled my eyes at them as she and Blue started to argue but I looked up at Red as he took a breath. "Where is N?" he asked Black and the Unova trainer tapped his chin in thought.

"I think he's still in his castle. That's near Victory Road though, why?"

White suddenly stopped arguing with Blue and shook her head, turning away from the taller trainer. "He's not there," she said.

Black looked at her with a blink. "He's not? Where is he?"

"I saw him the day before we got here, near White Forest; he said he wanted to watch the tournament so I think he could be in town somewhere."

Ethan blinked. "You think he'd know more about this, Red?"

My trainer nodded.

"Why?"

"If the Shadow Triad is around here, maybe they still follow orders from N," White offered.

"It's a slim chance, though," Black told us. "They'd follow Ghetsis even if it meant dying."

"Yeah, well, we can at least hope they'd listen to N."

Black glanced at her as she frowned slightly but didn't say anything else.

Ethan looked between everyone and smiled. "So that settles it, we need to look for N!" he said.

White nodded and looked at us before nudging Black with her elbow. "He's difficult to find. I'm sure Black will be able to find him the easiest but since Reshiram isn't with him anymore, it's going to be even more difficult."

"Using Reshiram as a place marker to find N wouldn't be a practical option anyway," her brother dead-panned. "We could be, you know, civilized people and just go out there and look."

"What's Reshiram?" Blue asked.

Black opened his mouth to answer but White slammed the palm of her hand against it to quiet him. "We won't tell you since you won't tell us who Team Rocket are!"

"Not fair!"

"You started it!"

Red sighed as he ran a hand over his face. It was too early to be dealing with their arguing.

White turned away from Blue to look at the others. "I guess we should start looking. He could be anywhere and this is a big city. I also think we stick with someone else," she added and looked at Black and he nodded in agreement. "And not wander alone anywhere."

"Just in case," he added. I couldn't agree more, not with the threat of _real-life freaking ninjas_ roaming around.

"What does he look like anyway?" Ethan asked, stretching his legs to prepare for a long day ahead.

"He's got really long green hair, generally wears a white shirt with tan pants," Black replied quickly. "And he's got this square thing he has attached to his belt." Espeon was staring at him suspiciously and I tilted my head slightly. What in the world was she thinking now?

White grinned. "You'll figure it out since he's a little awkward socially. Or if you're lucky, he'll come right up to you if you have a few pokemon out," she added and looked down to Espeon and I. "Don't freak out if he starts talking to your pokemon, too."

The task sounded easy enough but I knew it wouldn't be an easy thing. Blue slyly looked at Red and I watched as he turned around. "Ethan, let's go," he said and pulled the shorter boy with him towards the gates by the arm.

"But I wanted to go with Red!" Ethan objected as he was dragged along.

Black laughed as he watched them leave. "I'll go with them, I guess. They'll get lost in the city if we let them roam around aimlessly."

White rose a brow. "Like you?" she asked.

"That was one time!" he yelled back as he ran off to catch up to them.

When we were alone, White looked at Red and I could see there was some worry on her face. I wouldn't doubt she had some awful run-ins with Team Plasma just like we did with the Rockets. Then she sighed and said in a tone far too gentle for her temperamental self, "N may not look it, but he is a powerful trainer. He defeated Alder with no problems so he is champion material, but he was never recognized as one. He doesn't enjoy battling though, so I'm not even sure why he would come to a tournament like this. There's even a chance he isn't here, so we could be looking for a long time."

Well, we could only find out and hope there were answers about our ninja stalkers.

We followed her out the gate and I walked beside Espeon, who seemed giddy the entire time as we walked ahead. I already knew what she was so excited about despite the situation as she looked at me. _"I know we're supposed to be looking for someone, but this is the perfect_ _time to get the two of them closer together,"_ she told me.

 _"You know we're supposed to be finding out about our mysterious bisharp friend, right?"_ I asked.

_"I know but if we're going to be wandering around all day instead of training, we might as well make good use of this time, right?"_

I let my scowl show itself and she snickered immediately. I was more worried about the people who were watching us rather than trying to hook Red and White up. _"Espeon, this is serious!"_

 _"I realize that, Pikachu."_ I turned my eyes to her again and my ears immediately flattened at the sight of her grim face. She could get scary when she was serious. _"But there is no use worrying about something that has already happened. It's not like we can do anything about it right this second anyway. That's why we're trying to find N and get information."_ She sighed and looked back at the two humans that were ahead of us a little bit and her smile returned after a few minutes of silence. _"I'm going to try and get them to kiss."_

I looked at her sharply. _"Kiss?!"_ I practically shouted. First she wanted them to just get to know each other more, then she wanted them to get into a relationship, and now she wants them to kiss?

_"What? Not only would it be funny, but it would give us a true view on how they feel about each other."_

_"We've only known her for a week!"_

_"So? I've heard of humans getting married to each other after knowing them for just a couple months!"_

I wanted to smack my head against something. Red glanced back at us when he heard us talking and I heard White let out a giggle. "Pikachu is a drama queen, isn't he?"

Without hesitation, Red nodded and I glared up at him. Betrayal, that's what I felt. Betrayed by my own human. I was _not_ a drama queen.

 _"She's right, you know,"_ Espeon said and grinned as she ran ahead to walk beside the humans.

 _"No, I'm not!"_ I glared at her as she laughed and I caught up to them as well, all of us on our search for N.

\---

Red recalled Espeon in the afternoon when she admitted she was starting to get tired and we continued to look all around the city. Driftveil was much larger than I thought and while the area around the stadium was modern and catered to visitors, the rest of it felt rugged and far more relaxed. It boasted the best rodeos in all of Unova and White told us that while she wasn't interested in that kind of thing, she had been to one with Clay, the gym leader. She told us it had been fun simply because he'd made Black try it out and he'd done awful and was not meant for anything cowboy related.

We met Clay at his gym in the middle of the day. He was a nice and hospitable person but unfortunately, he had no idea where N was and 'hadn't even seen the guy' in a while. We bid him farewell and it started to get dark once we reached the edge of the city again. We took a break on a bench near the stadium, full of frustration. How hard was it to find someone that apparently stood out among everyone else?

White leaned back against the bench and watched as the sun started to set. "You think the others had any luck?" she asked.

Red shook his head. I didn't think so either and I sat in his lap, my paws tired from walking around all day.

The city was so full of people all day anyway and I could barely tell which scent was what. It could be possible that we passed N during our search and hadn't even realized it. Red had looked extremely uncomfortable large groups of people and I noticed he stuck close to White as she led us everywhere, clearly knowing where she was going. Luckily for us, most people didn't recognize us or maybe no one cared and left us alone. I bet on the latter since White hadn't been stopped either.

With so many people running around celebrating the fact that many of their favorite gym leaders were battling over the course of the month, it was also difficult to tell if there were any unwanted presences in the surrounding areas either. I looked around for any strange pokemon staring at us while my trainer pulled out his pokegear to text the Blue and ask if they'd found anything on their search.

I groaned loudly when I saw Blue's reply said they hadn't. This was turning out to be more difficult than it should have been.

Red also sighed with mild annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose then turned his eyes up towards me as I tapped his head. _"We can try over on that hill, we could see more from that point anyway,"_ I told him, but knew I had to play charades in order for him to understand. I pointed and he looked over towards a hill that was near the edge of the stadium lot, but at least it would give us a view of everyone in this place.

"On the hill?" White asked and I nodded. "Guess we could see more from there, huh?"

Red trudged up the hill with ease, years of mountain climbing finally coming to good use. At least he was better at this than stairs and the thought made me roll my eyes. When we turned around, we took a deep breath at the sight.

It was an amazing view—we could see every single light, all of the stands we had visited and then some, strings of smaller and different colored lights crossing the different stands and games that were set up all around the platform. It seemed as though it had grown ever since we first visited and had transformed half of the parking lot into a giant festival. I could even hear the echoes of music playing from a band that was playing on a small stage. The only things that weren't lit up were the benches that faced the ocean and a few of them held couples or friends having fun there as well.

I turned my eyes back in front of us when I noticed White heading up the hill with difficulty while we watched with amusement. She was out of breath as she finally came to stand beside us and I saw Red smirk as she finally took a deep breath and said, "You could have at least offered to help me up the rest of the way."

Red shrugged, looking back out at the many different activities and crowds ahead of us.

"It sucks we can't find N. He usually isn't this hard to find." She paused and chuckled to herself. "And knowing Black, he probably gave up hours ago and went back to the hotel."

That sounded like something Ethan would do as well, and I knew Red thought the same as he nodded once.

"I thought you would've wanted to go back to the hotel by now as well."

He shook his head and looked at her as she finally caught her breath, straightening her back to look up at him with a bright smile on her face. He stood at least a head taller than she did, but she looked happy despite the height difference.

"Since we can't find N, I think us two should have some fun! We deserve a break after wandering around all day. This festival is only here while the tournament is going on, so let's make the best of it."

He stared at her before he tried to say, "But—" He couldn't get out much more than that when she reached over and grabbed his hand.

"Come on!"

He stumbled a little when she pulled and I smiled as I jumped off of him as White led the way down the steep hill and back into the crowds. I happily followed, making sure to stay right on their feet to avoid getting accidentally stepped on by other humans or larger pokemon that weren't paying attention. Seriously though, being this small sucked sometimes. Having your tail stepped on, especially by fully grown humans, hurt so much. Every time someone stepped on it felt like they would break it.

"So, what do you want to do first?" White asked once we were in the middle of the games area and interrupted my thoughts.

Red looked around, looking a little uncomfortable, scanning each face that passed by. "Shouldn't we keep looking for N?" he asked quietly.

She scoffed at him with a roll of her eyes. "You are a stubbornly hard worker," she replied. Finally! At least someone other than Blue agreed with me. "You need to learn to live a little. You don't have to work all the time, and besides, like I said, we'll see him eventually. Trust me, he always shows up at the right moments."

He gave in rather quickly and nodded, delighting her enough to go ahead and find a stall to visit first.

I stayed with them the entire time, making sure none of us got separated and kept begging Red to let me have some of those treats that were on display. White laughed and said she wanted to see me eat a churro just to see a hyper Pikachu and Red instantly declined. Last time I got a hold of sugar, there were lots of expenses Red paid and we were kicked out of a pokemon center. Another story for another time.

We visited several different stands, one of which was a ring game that White pushed for Red to try. He awkwardly accepted it and I allowed White to pick me up so Red could concentrate and so I could see better. My smile only grew bigger when he failed miserably on the first try and somehow shattered three bottles with the second toss, causing even the game keeper to laugh heartily. He was wiping tears as he gave Red a small prize anyhow, simply as a thanks for making him laugh so hard.

White giggled as he took it and she thanked the man as we walked away. "Here," Red said suddenly and pushed the toy to her, making her blink as I squirmed out of her arms to jump back onto the ground.

I watched as she blushed and took the toy with steady hands. I snickered to myself. Espeon would hate me for witnessing this. She was blushing around our trainer and I stopped myself when I felt a smile form. Was I was enjoying this? Sure, I had accepted helping her with O.G.A.D. but hadn't truly felt I really wanted it. Watching the two of them now, my eyes widened with realization. Was this a date? It wasn't just going to a festival with a friend, was it?

When I sensed their nervousness, I glanced back up at them. White was holding the toy in front of her as we walked away to find another booth and Red was pointedly looking away. If I squinted, I could see he looked embarrassed. Embarrassed about what? His mother wasn't here telling us stories about his past!

No, I decided. This wasn't just having fun at a festival with a friend. This was something more, this was O.G.A.D. in the making!

We probably skipped a few steps, though.

I was positive Espeon was going to kill me for witnessing it instead of herself.

Red and White hid their nervousness from each other it under masks of calm and White smiled up at Red, turning the toy around so he could see its front. "Thank you! Do you know what this pokemon is?" she asked and Red shook his head once. "It's a duckling, the super cute flying-type. Don't tell Mandibuzz I said that. She hates it when I say other pokemon are cuter than her."

The next two hours passed by quickly and even though they were having fun, I could see they had both practically forgotten about our search for N in favor of trying a bean bag game to win another toy. I rolled my eyes at them. So much for continuing our search.

When people finally started to notice and recognize who we were halfway into the game, we left the festival to head back for the hotel. White smiled as she looked up at Red, holding the Duckling doll in her arms tightly. "Thank you, Red. I had fun. And this little guy is going to be on my nightstand," she said happily.

He nodded in response, smiling at her excitement.

We eventually reached the hotel again, most of the windows dark with a few scattered rooms that still had lights on. White stopped at the entrance to the courtyard and turned to Red, making him blink. "I had a lot of fun," she repeated.

Then I thought my eyes deceived me. He blushed, but quickly tried to hide it with a smile and nod. "I did too. Thank you for showing me around."

"Pfft, it was nothing. I'm an experienced tour guide."

I was looking rapidly between the two of them. They were standing together in awkward silence and I scowled immediately. If they weren't going to do anything and just stand there, I knew exactly what to do. I walked around until I was standing behind White as she finally said, "I—I guess we should go inside now… yeah…"

Then I sighed to myself. Espeon would be so proud of what I'm about to do. Blastoise would scold me if he found out. I looked up at the humans as White rubbed the back of her head and Red seemed amused. _Sorry, Red,_ I thought as I got ready to face the consequences and took a step back.

Then without any more hesitation, I ran forward and tackled into White's back, shoving her right into my trainer. I landed on my paws easily as Red fumbled to try and catch her but they both fell to the grass beside the path with yelps of shock. I looked at my handiwork proudly.

It might be a bit cliché, but hey, it got the job done.

They didn't even seem mad at me and for a few seconds, they stared at each other, their faces only a few millimeters apart until White squeaked. "I'm sorry! I'll get up!" She scrambled off of him and got to her feet first. As she helped Red up, I heard laughter from behind us on the stairs leading up to the doors.

Both of them jumped and spun around to face Blue as he grinned widely at them. "You two done making out yet?" he said loudly.

White and Red's faces flushed pink instantly, but it was White who cried, "It's not like that! It—it was an accident!" She pointed an accusing finger at me. "Pikachu, you see, he—"

"I saw what I saw." Blue grinned as Red scowled at him as his laughter started to die down.

White shook her head. "How long have you standing there?!"

"Long enough to see you two laying on the ground making out."

"We weren't making out!"

Red shook his head rapidly but Blue didn't seem to be convinced and laughed again.

He got off the wall he was leaning against and walked towards us as he wiped his eyes. "We were all wondering where you ran off. It's been hours since we've been back."

"Did you guys find him?" White asked hopefully.

"No, I thought Red would've told you." He looked at Red as White looked up at him. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Red shrugged in response.

Blue rolled his eyes and looked at her again. "You two have been searching this entire time?"

She nodded and grumbled, "No luck on our end, either."

He sighed and then looked towards the gates. "Well, if we can't find him, we'll probably have to go after the Shadow Triad ourselves."

She frowned and warned, "I don't like that idea. You don't know what they can do."

"Yeah, but if we want answers and can't find N, or if he doesn't even know anything, then we're going to have to do _something_. I'm not going to wait around while they stalk us." He glanced at Red. "Or try anything."

Red hesitated before he sighed and nodded. Something told me he was already thinking of something and I frowned as we all started to make our way inside. I could only hope he wasn't thinking of doing anything brash.

We bid farewell to White and Blue on our way to our room and Red let out a yawn. I'd almost forgotten how little sleep he'd had last night and along with walking around all day, I was sure he was downright exhausted. He released the rest of the team as he shrugged his vest off and once he had a quick dinner, he laid in bed and stared at the ceiling for the longest time until Espeon stuck her face in his and practically demanded attention from him. Such a typical cat pokemon to do so; I've seen meowths do that to their humans as well.

She purred loudly as he scratched her ears, and when he yawned, I looked at Venusaur as he used a vine to flip the lights off, the only light in the bedroom now was Charizard's flaming tail. At least it also kept the room nice and toasty. By the time we all squeezed into the room and got comfortable, I grinned to myself and glanced towards Espeon as she bathed herself. _"By the way, White and Red almost kissed today,"_ I said and watched her freeze mid-lick.

 _"What?!"_ she practically screeched.

Her outburst startled the others and Red even jumped a little. When she was on her paws beside him with the gem on her head glowing, he looked confused and looked to me for answers but had to look back at her when she got closer.

She stuck her face into his again, her front two paws on his shoulder. _"You almost kissed White?"_

He pushed her back immediately after. "No, I didn't," he answered too quickly.

_"That's not what Pikachu just told us!"_

Red glared at me and I grinned innocently at him. Espeon's mischievousness must have been rubbing off on me since I found this fun and enjoyable.

 _"What happened? Details, Red, details!"_ Espeon demanded.

"Nothing happened—!" he tried to say but I interrupted him.

 _"He had to have a little help; they were just standing there all awkwardly staring at each other!"_ I told her. _"So, I pushed White into him and they fell and made googly-eyes at each other for like a minute."_ I pushed my two front paws close to each other. _"Their faces were this close to each other."_

Red's face betrayed his blush and he instantly tried to hide himself under the covers of the bed as Blastoise looked amused, thankfully not angry that I had pushed White into Red. _"Googly-eyes, Red? Really?"_ he said.

 _"You like her, don't you?"_ Espeon asked, then pulled the quilt down so we could all see his face.

Red was refusing to look at us and turned onto his side but I could see his bright blush even in the dark room.

 _"It's okay to like someone,"_ Venusaur finally said after a moment of silence. We all looked at the eldest in the room though Red still refused to meet anyone's eyes.

Snorlax smiled and sat up so he could see us while he said, _"We aren't judging you. You would do well to have someone else you are close to."_

"I don't like her," he finally mumbled. Charizard snorted his approval, remaining quiet.

I snorted loudly. _"Yeah, right. When we were at the festival, you had eyes only for her when you thought she wasn't looking,"_ I told him.

He didn't say anything and I smiled as Espeon had another startled and excited outburst and looked ready to jump onto our human. Red finally let out a tired sigh, pulling the covers back over his face. _I'm very tired so please bug me about it later,_ his voice came through Espeon's power.

Espeon's eyes softened and she left him alone, nudging the lump under the covers and laid down. I yawned, feeling the days walk catch up and I stretched out before curling up on the other side of the bed. I was asleep before I heard Snorlax's snoring.


	9. Finding N

_Pikachu_

It was getting tedious searching the city every single day and we had yet to find N, or even spot any other people or pokemon watching us. Perhaps it had all been a fluke and Bisharp was just a one-time thing. I really hoped that was the case. We had enough life-threatening disturbances to last the rest of our lives.

Our search eventually dwindled over the next few days when no one found N in town, Espeon hadn't sensed a thing around our room and Giovanni hadn't come to us again. It was almost unnerving that nothing was happening but we at least got a few hours of training in every day before we went out for a quick look around town until we eventually just stopped looking.

I couldn't help but notice how during that time, Red had gone to search with Black and Ethan, while Blue stuck with White. Maybe my trainer was trying to prove to us that he didn't like her but by then even Charizard knew better, much to the fire-type's displeasure. He repeated over and over again how much he didn't like how much alone time the two humans were spending together and vowed to us that he would never accept her. Espeon just rolled her eyes and called him an 'overdramatic, overprotective and temperamental lizard.'

The days passed by rather quickly after we started to put our minds to training, stalker pokemon and resident ex-mob boss all but forgotten. Before we knew it, the gym leaders who had won over their regions were having their final matches this week. I was disappointed but not surprised to hear that Giovanni had beaten Brock to claim that spot but I was happy that Brock had at least gotten Giovanni down to his last pokemon before he lost.

On Monday, I was starting to get antsy. I wanted to start our tournament and know who we were up against and prepare for the upcoming battles, but unfortunately, no one would know who they would be up against until Friday. All we could do was wait and see.

I followed Red out of the room and when we were outside, I made a face when the air started to get warm. It was already getting hot, but thankfully it wasn't so bad that it made me want to run back inside and hide in the air conditioning. I paused on the stairs as my ears flicked themselves towards the sounds of a battle not too far away and I looked up to see Red heading that direction anyway.

We weren't going our normal route to the beach this time and it made me wonder what we were going to do today. Were we going to have a battle with someone? I missed battling, we hadn't battled someone in such a long time.

We stopped at a park close to the chateau and as we entered, I saw two pokemon on a small field, though the blue one collapsed just as we entered. Serperior looked triumphant, thumping his tail against the ground and turned when he heard us coming close while on the other side, Black pouted and went to his fainted pokemon with a full restore in his hands. "You always pick Serperior," he complained as White laughed.

"Then stop picking Samurott! You always pick Samurott when it's one versus one," she answered with a smile. Serperior nodded with agreement, looking happier than I'd ever seen him as she patted his head and healed him with the last of the full restore from Black. The blue pokemon that I could safely assume was Samurott shook out his fur and got back up to his paws and let out a yawn, complaining to his trainer that he was hungry.

Black huffed at White instead, crossing his arms across his chest as he scowled at her. "Well, you're scared of Cofagrigus, and since I'm such a caring brother I never pick him!"

"Everyone's scared of Cofagrigus! Pick a different pokemon to be on your team!"

Her twin looked offended. "Hey! Cofagrigus is awesome! He makes really good cookies and definitely doesn't deserve all the hate!"

White paused, surprised. "Wait, Cofagrigus knows how to bake cookies?"

"Yeah, and he's a better cook than you'll ever be!"

Red looked back and forth between them as we listened to the siblings' squabble and watched them finish healing their pokemon. I glanced up at him and he returned the raised brow. Times like these made me glad that Red was an only child.

She scowled right back at Black again and pointed at him with an index finger. "I can make a mean pot roast and you know it!"

"Pfft, you burn everything you touch!"

"No, I don't!"

By now, Red and I were leaning against the fence, watching them banter until they would notice us. At this rate, I doubted it would be any time soon. Samurott even saw us, but as curious as he looked, he didn't let Black know that we were there as he sat down lazily, waiting for the twins to finish arguing just like we were.

"Cofagrigus doesn't burn everything."

"Yeah, well, pick someone else other than Cofagrigus! Like Emolga! Emolga is just fine!"

"Yeah, 'cause he stands yay high!" He motioned with his hands the short height the pokemon would be. Black suddenly blinked when he finally saw us and turned towards us with a smile and wave. "Hey, Red!" he greeted.

White turned quickly to face us and smiled. "Good morning!"

Serperior simply nodded towards us yet he couldn't help his slight glare when he glanced at me but said nothing.

Black looked at Samurott and grinned a little. Samurott returned the look, their unspoken communication telling me that they knew what they were up to. I sensed mischievousness suddenly radiate from the two of them and I heard him abruptly declare quickly and in a single breath, "Samurott and I are gonna go somewhere else and train and probably get some breakfast so I'll see you two later today, bye!"

White shot a glare towards her brother's back as the two suddenly sprinted away towards the city. "Black! Black, get back here you stupid, lazy bum!" she shouted but it was pointless, he was already gone. She sighed and didn't do anything for a few moments, leaving it awkwardly silent for a nearly full minute before she mustered the courage to turn towards my trainer.

Red had given Serperior a poffin, who delightfully took it and he gave a small smile as he gave the teenager his full trust, going so far as to nudge his hand for another. I scowled. I didn't like Serperior and Serperior didn't like me, but one little poffin and suddenly, he was Red's best friend. I wanted to shove him away but when White walked up to him, I simply accepted the fact that Red was oblivious towards our dislike of each other.

White rubbed his head as she got close. "I think that's enough poffins for today, Serperior," she said and smiled when he pouted and even looked at her with the best puppy-dog eyes I'd ever seen. She seemed to be used to his begging faces and looked up at Red. She was abruptly nervous all over again and I tilted my head slightly as she asked, "So… um… Red, what are you up to today?"

Red thought for a moment and shook his head. "Training, mostly," he answered simply.

"Oh, yeah… training. That's—that's something we need to do too, huh Serperior?" She laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

Serperior stared at her with a confused blink and continued to stare as she looked back up at Red. Then he looked at me without a glare and I just shrugged. At least we could both agree that humans were strange creatures.

She coughed quietly to catch Red's attention again. "Black actually suggested this. He, ah, he said…" Her face turned a beautiful shade of ripe tomato and Red's face twisted with sudden confusion when she started to fiddle her thumbs together.

Were humans seriously this dull when it came to any form of attraction or was it just my trainer?

White took a deep breath and finally blurted too fast for any human or pokemon to understand, "HesaidifIlikeyousomuchIshouldaskyououtonadatebutIdon't—" _is she even breathing?_ "—knowifIshouldbecausewhatifyoudon'tlikemesoIdon'tknowwhattodo."

She gasped and Red blinked a few times as he tried to comprehend what in the world she tried to say before he started to laugh, the rather unexpected sound startling the girl.

She blushed again when he finally stopped, a smile still on his face as she grew frustrated, most likely with herself. "I-I'm sorry, you probably didn't understand half of that, huh? Black gave me the idea last night. He said if… if I, well… enjoyed your company so much, we should do something... um, you know… together." She gulped as the blush returned. "H-he kinda figured it out a long time ago. I'm sorry, this is really hard."

My eyes widened. Was this a _confession?_ That night when I had pushed her into him was no mere coincidence! I felt a victory for O.G.A.D. and myself as I smirked. Espeon was going to kill me. Hey, it was her fault for not wanting to walk around with us today.

I looked up at my trainer and sighed immediately at his puzzled face. Why was he confused? She was admitting her crush to him and he was letting it go right over his head.

White's hands fell apart during his silence, trying to rid herself of the nervousness that controlled her. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. Like, starving hungry. Enough to eat an entire bouffalant. Let's go eat breakfast. I know a good place here, and it isn't really that expensive."

Serperior seemed extremely confused by his trainer's behavior and then slowly began to understand, his eyes widening slightly as he looked back and forth between the two humans. He then looked down at me and then back again, saying nothing as if his mind had been blown.

I snickered at his look, jogging after Red as they started walking. When I got close to him, I tugged on his pant leg and he stopped to look down at me. _"I need you to get Espeon out! I need her to tell everyone else something!"_ I told him as White looked confused.

"Ah… what's he saying?" she asked.

Red shook his head but reached behind to grab Espeon's pokeball.

Espeon appeared soon and stretched. _"I wanted to nap some more,"_ she whined but tilted her head when she saw the others with us. _"What's wrong?"_ she asked, the gem on her head glowing.

"We don't know, Pikachu just started rambling something," White answered and Red nodded.

Espeon looked between the two and then glanced at me with a curious face.

I knew I had to lie now. I didn't want either of them to know that we had plotted O.G.A.D. just yet. _"Espeon was just telling me before we left the room that she wanted to walk with us before it got too late."_ I looked at Espeon, silently begging her to understand that I needed her to stop translating.

She seemed to understand and that made her even more curious and came to my side and looked up at the humans with a nod. _"He's right. I wanted to sunbathe more but we didn't have enough time."_

Red looked a little confused but slowly nodded, thankfully accepting the answer. He and White turned around again, both of them quickly losing interest as they walked ahead of us.

Espeon's gem stopped glowing and she looked at me. _"You better have a good reason why you woke me up. What do you want?"_ she asked me with a huff. _"I was having a really good dream, too."_

I grinned. _"Look at them right now and tell me that this isn't O.G.A.D. in the works,"_ I told her.

Serperior looked confused as he slithered beside us. _"What is O.G.A.D.?"_ he asked but we both ignored him.

Espeon instead looked ahead as we trailed behind Red and White and ever so slowly, she started to grin.

 _"So, I figured that we should tell Blue and Ethan's teams somehow to keep them away from us for today,"_ I continued, my tail swishing back and forth as we walked on the sidewalk towards the city.

Serperior suddenly slithered in front of us, impatient that we hadn't answered him. _"What are you two plotting?"_ he hissed, the famous glare of his trained back onto us.

Espeon seemed unfazed by his tone and smirked at him. _"O.G.A.D. is something we talked about on the beach a while ago,"_ she answered coolly, walking around him to keep our humans in our sight. _"Zebstrika and Mienshao were both all for it, too. Did they tell you anything?"_

Serperior looked unsure as he watched us two and then started to follow us again. _"You mean they weren't joking?"_ he asked then turned his eyes towards White. _"But Hilda and Red don't have anything in common. They just seem like another pair of trainers to me."_

Espeon chuckled. _"They have a lot more in common than meets the eye."_ She stopped behind them as we waited to cross the road. _"Red won't tell anyone, but he loves to watch rom-coms, he's a total sap for them. Plus, they're both very outdoorsy people, I can tell White doesn't like being cooped up inside for long and Red doesn't either."_

Serperior shook his head when the light changed and we crossed the street. _"No, she does not."_ Then he glanced at her, amused. _"How did you know what kind of movies she likes? Did you read her mind?"_

She chuckled. _"Maybe,"_ she answered in a sing-song tone.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them. _"Anyway, can you tell the others to keep Ethan and Blue away? I don't want this moment to get interrupted by them,"_ I interrupted.

Espeon nodded and the gem glowed again. _"Please keep Ethan and Blue away, O.G.A.D. is underway!"_

There was a pause before I heard Alakazam's distinct voice answer, _"O.G.A.D.?"_ That seemed to be the common question around here.

 _"Do you honestly think we'll be able to keep Blue away from Red?"_ said an uninterested Machamp.

 _"You make it sound like it's some ultra-important mission,"_ Scizor mentioned.

Togetic was quick to respond with, _"It is super important!"_

 _"We need details as soon as possible!"_ Pidgeot's excited voice said.

I heard Ursaring's tired sigh then he asked, _"If it's so important, how will we get Ethan away from Red today?"_

 _"And Blue too? He's been telling us he wants to have a mock battle,"_ Gyarados added.

 _"I could always just sit on Blue,"_ Arcanine offered.

 _"Just do whatever you can to keep them in their rooms until we get back,"_ Espeon said and cut off the connection as we neared the central plaza of the city. She glanced at me. _"That should do it."_

I snorted. _"Yeah, and hopefully Arcanine doesn't suffocate Blue with his fur,"_ I said and she laughed.

We finally stopped at a small hole in the wall restaurant called Flapjack Central and Red opened the door, holding it open for the rest of us. Upon entering, the overwhelming scent of syrup hit my noise and I couldn't help but to feel excited. I would say I smelled waffle more than pancake, though Espeon would tell me that pancakes tasted better. To each their own, I suppose.

The waiters allowed Serperior, Espeon and I to remain out of our pokeballs as long as we didn't cause a ruckus, and obediently Espeon and I sat down on either side of Red's side of the benched seats and Serperior slithered beside White.

She grabbed one of the menus that was sitting on the edge of the table and after briefly looking it over, she said, "The house scramble is really good. So are their pancakes, they're to die for." She then glanced at Serperior. "You want your usual?"

Serperior nodded eagerly. _"Yes, please!"_ he said.

Red stared at the menu a little longer than she did before he nodded once, setting it down as Espeon pointed to a picture with a fruit bowl. _"That looks good. We can all share that,"_ she said and he looked at me as I pointed to the picture of a plate full of pancakes. Espeon nodded eagerly and looked up at him. _"Please, can we get pancakes?"_ she begged, making sure he could understand.

 _"I thought you wanted fruit,"_ I told her.

_"I said we could all share it."_

He sighed. _Just don't go crazy this time,_ his thoughts answered and I nearly jumped for joy. I high-fived Espeon, seeing how excited she was as well. Sweets were very rare and human sweets tasted much better than the average poffin did.

White watched our exchanges with a smile, then finally looked up at Red. "How do they know what you're saying if you don't say anything?" she asked curiously.

He smiled a little and patted Espeon's head, causing her to immediately purr.

"I knew that." White hid her face behind the menu again and I watched Serperior look down at her and then turned his head towards us.

 _"Why is she blushing?"_ he asked.

It took everything for Espeon not to jump up and squeal by the way she nearly started to dance on her paws but she stayed as calm as she could and remained sitting beside Red.

I was surprised Red was as calm as he was, I thought he would be just as nervous as White, however all I sensed from him was his natural calm demeanor and focus on the smallest details. There was a heavy air of uncertainty about him, though. He still had no idea what to do even as a waiter came up with water cups and to take our order. He simply pointed to the fruit bowls and held up three fingers, then towards the house scramble that White had suggested and a plate of pancakes for us.

After White ordered her and Serperior's food, she looked at Red. "So, usually when people have a meal together, they talk about something." Her eyes lit up and she smirked at him. "And although we may be eating breakfast and hanging out, don't think I won't go easy on you during the tournament."

That was finally something that caught Red's interest and he narrowed his own eyes in a challenging way, giving a slight grin as she returned the smirk.

"We're both champions, and although I don't run around and brag about it, I can be a tough opponent." She paused when Red rose a brow. "What? You saw me take down Samurott this morning, didn't you?" She clapped Serperior's back proudly. "Serperior is awesome! He's been with me through everything!"

Serperior nodded quietly, using his tail to grab a water cup for him to drink.

Red then patted my head and smiled as I glanced up at him curiously.

"I'm kinda curious though, which was your starter: Charizard, Blastoise or Venusaur? I heard Kanto gives out a charmander, squirtle or bulbasaur to new trainers as starters."

Red shook his head and then briefly lifted me up. I gave her a peace sign with one paw, the other holding a straw from the cup I had been drinking water out of.

"Pikachu your starter?"

He nodded then set me back down.

"Oh. I didn't know Kanto gave out pikachus as a starter."

"Not anymore," Red finally answered out loud.

"Really?"

Red nodded again.

"Huh. That's really weird. How come?"

He shrugged. Honestly, we'd never asked why I was given out as a starter and not the typical three Professor Oak gave out now. It reminded me to ask him the next time we saw him, but I was sure I'd forget by the time we got back home.

White changed the subjected as she flicked her gaze back towards the other human. "But is your real name Red? It's not like me and Black, with our aliases."

Red nodded.

"What about Blue?"

He gave another nod.

She laughed as she said, "Man, your parents must've been on something when they named you."

Red smiled, shrugging to tell her he didn't mind and scratched Espeon's head.

"Well, do you have anything to ask me? I've been asking you, like, a whole lot of questions." She smiled. "Ask me anything! Don't be shy!"

Red was silent for a while and I was a little afraid he'd lost his voice before he finally nodded to himself, looking at White. "Why do you call yourself White? I think Hilda is just fine," he said and blinked when her face turned pink.

"I don't know, it's just something silly. I've never really liked my name, everyone made fun of our names when we were little so we decided to call ourselves Black and White after the two legendaries." Her face flushed in embarrassment and she gave another nervous giggle. "The story of the two heroes always fascinated us and yeah, that—that's why." She twiddled her thumbs and forced herself to pull them apart and looked at him despite her small blush. "Ask me something else!"

He smiled and that mischief returned to his crimson eyes. I tilted my head. What was he up to now? "Do you blush for everyone or just me?"

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and I nearly dropped my water cup. Was he _flirting!?_ I can freely admit that I was proud of him for coming out of his shell. One look at Espeon and she was the same way, smiling brightly and she looked at me with a nod that the two humans didn't see.

With that said, Whites face turned bright red again and she tried hiding it with a two-handed face-palm and tried ignoring Red's laughter. I was just happy that someone could make him laugh so much, especially from someone other than Blue.

"Yes—I mean, no! Shut up! It's not funny!"

She too was smiling but the furious blush finally faded as the food came and I faintly heard her stomach growl in response. Both teenagers ate ravenously and I stole a glance towards White; judging by the chomping noises coming from her side of the table, it was possible this was also White and Serperior's first meal of the day.

As we ate, I saw Espeon's tail twitch. She only ever did that if she sensed something and I blinked as I looked at her, chewing a piece of pancake covered in syrup. _"What's going on?"_ I asked as I shoved another piece into my mouth.

 _"Pikachu, we need to distract Blue and Ethan now! Before they get inside and know they're here!"_ she said and abandoned her half-eaten pancake and fruit to slide out from the table.

 _"But I want to eat my pancake!"_ I whined, but sighed. I knew if I left her alone, nothing good would come out of it. I took a slice of an apple for the road and slid off the bench to jog after her. I briefly heard Serperior slithering behind us, but I didn't really care if he stayed to finish his meal or not.

Espeon opened the door with her psychic power and I noticed from the corner of my eye Red and White were looking at us pokemon in pure and innocent confusion, though Red quickly caught on and narrowed his eyes with his face clearly telling us, _Don't you dare leave me alone with her!_

I only smiled at him and ran out to catch up to Espeon. We ran around the corner and I was surprised to see Blue and Ethan already and both of them jumped in surprise. Then they looked confused when they couldn't see either of our trainers.

"Where's Red?" Blue asked.

"And why is Serperior with you guys?" Ethan added.

I nearly pointed towards the restaurant but with one death glare from Espeon as the gem began to shine, I pointed the other direction. _"That way… yeah, they went that way,"_ I mumbled half-heartedly.

Ethan looked towards the dead-end street while Blue just crossed his arms across his chest. "Why are all you pokemon acting so strange all of a sudden? Pidgeot was excited about something, Gyarados was blocking the door and Jolteon didn't shock him for once. Then Arcanine nearly suffocated me with his fur—I'm pretty sure I'm going to be coughing up hairballs because of it!"

Ethan laughed but it quickly faded as he said, "Well, at least you weren't manhandled by a giant Ursaring all morning. You saved me from watching another episode of a stupid talk show Scizor likes to watch! He literally held me in his lap! He never wants to cuddle, so it was really, really weird. It's like they wanted to keep us away from something. What are you guys up to?" He turned his eyes to us suspiciously.

Blue nodded in agreement. "Espeon, you're usually the one causing problems."

Espeon huffed at that.

"Tell us what is going on."

She shook her head immediately. _"No because I don't always cause problems around here,"_ she retorted.

He groaned loudly, annoyed. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Let's go, Ethan." He took a step towards the restaurant, the complete opposite of where I had pointed.

I panicked slightly and jumped in front of them, waving my paws at them to try and get them to stop. _"They aren't there, they're over there! They went past the fence, I promise!"_ I said to them, pointing towards the dead-end again.

"Yeah, you say one thing, but it's usually the other way—you aren't a very good liar, Pikachu," Ethan said with a snort.

I gave Espeon a hopeless look. I really was a bad liar and Serperior sighed before he slithered in front of the two humans. With agile movement, he used his tail to grab their arms that were beside each other to pull them back as they walked past us.

They both yelped as he spun them around to face Espeon before letting them go. _"Thank you, Serperior."_

He nodded at her quietly then came back to our sides.

Espeon then looked at Blue and Ethan as they rubbed their arms and told them, _"Pikachu is correct. Red's being swarmed by pokemon again and White chased after him. Heard that it's a bunch of bug-types that feast on human flesh. You had both better go find them before they get digested in bug goo."_

I smacked my face with a paw. That wasn't the lie I would want her to go with but Ethan glanced at the fence in a worried expression anyway. He was extremely gullible when it came to things like that.

Blue rolled his eyes, seeing right through her lie. "Then if that is the case, why are you two so desperate to stop us from coming this way?" He looked annoyed but I knew Espeon found some sort of cruel joy tormenting them. "This is ridiculous, Espeon!"

She licked her paw innocently to wash her face. _"Maybe you should have stayed in your rooms today and this wouldn't be happening."_

Ethan suddenly narrowed his eyes at us as something clicked in his mind. He then pointed an accusing finger at Espeon and yelled, "You're the one who made Ursaring hold me hostage?! Do you know how uncomfortable that was?!"

 _"Please lower your voice, you'll make yourself look like an idiot."_ I laughed as Ethan sputtered something. He just wasn't used to Espeon's quips and insults yet. _"It was not my intention for him to do so. I will apologize on his behalf."_ She finally got onto all four of her paws, getting ready to head back _. "It is best you both return now. Red and White are currently occupied at the moment and it is very top-secret meeting that you two have no part of."_

 _"Super-top secret,"_ I said with a nod at the humans.

 _"So secret that no one else but them should know,"_ Serperior added. I was surprised he was totally on board with this so easily.

Ethan seemed suspicious but finally sighed in defeat. "Fine. We'll leave him alone for now," the golden-eyed boy said.

Blue nodded in agreement. "But don't think we won't figure out what's going on. Super-top secret or not," he added with a look towards Serperior and I.

I smiled innocently up at them and waved as they turned around and went the opposite way. I made sure they were gone before we headed back towards Flapjack Central _._

 _"That was close. Too close,"_ I muttered. Then I rubbed my chin as I walked on my two back paws. _"But why is it so bad for them to at least know he's on a sudden date?"_

 _"It's not our place to tell them what is going on in Red's personal life. They don't need to know every single detail, as clingy as they are. If Red feels comfortable, he will tell them himself,"_ Espeon replied calmly.

Serperior nodded in agreement. _"I'm sure one of them will tell them later, anyway,"_ he told me.

I couldn't help but scowl at him. _"Why are you just agreeing with Espeon about everything?"_ I demanded.

He ignored me again as Espeon opened the door to the restaurant again.

I scowled as he slithered inside before me. I really didn't like him.

We headed back for the booth that held Red and White and I could see that they were almost done eating and had certainly slowed down since we had left them.

Red gave us a quizzical look and as we slid back into our seats as if nothing had happened.

White looked confused as well but shrugged as she suggested, "Maybe they just wanted to go for a walk?"

 _"Yeah, let's go with that,"_ I said as I popped a grape into my mouth.

\---

We left the restaurant almost fifteen minutes later, completely stuffed and thirty pokedollars and twenty-four cents poorer, but happy. They led us through the city towards the beach and when we exited the small cave and blinked to adjust to the bright sun again, we realized it wasn't empty.

I saw Blue standing on Gyarados' back in the water, trying to stay balanced on the slippery scales on the water. Red rose a brow at the odd behavior and Blue only shrugged with a simple answer of, "Balancing."

Arcanine rushed over to greet us all happily while the others of Blue's team gave us a brief greeting before they returned to doing whatever they were doing.

Red scratched Arcanine's chin when he was close enough and White seemed amazed as she pet his mane as well. "How do you keep his fur so soft?" she asked Blue when he jumped off of Gyarados.

"Lots and lots of brushing sessions," Blue answered. Arcanine barked to confirm it as his trainer glanced at Red and White. "Ethan and I were looking for you earlier, by the way. I don't know what is going on, but all of our pokemon were acting really weird this morning, and that includes Pikachu, Espeon and Serperior." He looked at us three with suspicious eyes.

Red tilted his head questioningly and looked at us two while I simply jumped onto his shoulder in a single leap. Serperior remained stoic, staying right behind his own confused trainer.

"What do you mean weird?" White asked.

"Meaning that Arcanine sat on me to keep me in my room and Ethan was kept in his room, too."

Red immediately shot an accusing look at Espeon and she smiled as innocently as she could as he asked out loud, "What did you do this time?"

She shook her head and licked her paw to feign ignorance. _"I have no idea what you're talking about. Pikachu, Serperior nor I did anything. We just told the others to keep Blue and Ethan in their rooms until we got back to the hotel. O.G.A.D. is in full effect and we didn't need any interruptions while we were out."_

His face twisted in confusion just as much as Blue and White's, and he looked between us. "What in Arceus' name is O.G.A.D.?" Blue asked, bewildered.

Red shook his head, still looking at Espeon in disbelief. "O.G.A.D.?"

I was getting really tired of hearing that now.

Espeon eyed them with a smirk. _"That is something for you to figure out."_

Blue groaned and motioned towards her. "See?! Weird, right?"

Red nodded in agreement then knelt down to our level then I heard his thoughts through Espeon say, _What is OGAD?_

Without hesitation, Espeon cut off the connection to Blue and White, set her paws back down and looked at him straight in his red irises to reply calmly, _"Operation: Get A Date. We thought of it a while ago, actually. The other teams were all for it, though Charizard is still trying to keep you two apart."_

Red's face was pink instantly. "What?" he blurted out loud with a dead-panned tone.

Blue blinked. "What, what?"

"What's what?" White asked, then glanced at Serperior as he kept an eye on Espeon as well.

Red looked up at them silently and then at us two, ignoring them for the moment.

 _"Espeon, Zebstrika, Mienshao and Ampharos thought of it first!"_ I claimed though Red still seemed to be too shocked to say anything.

Espeon nodded. _"We did but I wouldn't consider this breakfast a date, so the mission is still on-going!"_

Red shook his head. _What in Arceus' name are you going on about? What is O.G.A.D.?_

 _"We literally just told you what that meant,"_ I said with a roll of my eyes but he ignored me.

Espeon chuckled instead. _"You'll figure it out. You are smart, Red."_

"Can someone please elaborate and tell us what the hell you two are arguing about?" Blue demanded.

I could tell Red was frustrated with us, but none of us would any of them that O.G.A.D. wouldn't be over until the two most stubborn humans in the world directly admitted their feelings for each other, no matter how many dates they would have. He would eventually figure that out but until then, he decided we needed to train for the upcoming battles next week and the annoyed glare in his face told me he wasn't going to go easy on us.

Blue and White left after a long period of bewildered silence and Red took out the others to train us all. Blastoise questioned us mercilessly during the entirety of it, wanting to know what had put Red in such an awful mood. Espeon just laughed and told them all that he was just upset that he found out about O.G.A.D.

We only stopped training when there was no more beach left and we had to take Charizard to escape the rapidly rising tide. I looked down with awe when we were in the sky and landing on the cliff above the beach. White hadn't been kidding, the tide rose quickly and whatever sand we had been on, it was covered in water now. If we had stayed any longer, we probably would have been swept away to the sea.

Charizard landed on the ground with ease, allowing Red to slide off and turn around to face the ocean. The breeze felt amazing and I made an awed sound at the horizon. Charizard sat down beside a fallen tree log that Red used as a makeshift bench. He pulled his hat off briefly to wipe his forehead with an arm and let out a tired sigh. I looked at him and jumped up beside him, but got no further than just flopping onto my stomach with my hind quarters hanging off the ledge of the log.

He smiled apologetically and glanced down at his lap as Charizard laid down on the ground and set his large head into his lap. Red patted his head gently and we sat there for a while as the air grew cooler and the sun started to set. It was a pretty view and we all stared at the ocean as the sky turned pink, then slowly a dark blue until it turned black. Call me biased, but nothing beat the sunsets and sunrises on our mountain home.

Eventually, our hunger won over and Red eventually stretched, but stopped when Charizard suddenly looked at the trees with a soft growl. I also turned around, hearing a twig snap and was about to jump ahead with an Iron Tail until I heard a delighted yelp, _"I found you! Daddy, they're over here!"_

I sighed, relieved and Charizard's growling instantly died off when Deerling jumped forward. She seemed to be unaware how close she already was to us and jumped right into Red, knocking him off of his feet and I laughed as he tossed a magical poffin out of his pocket and off behind the log to get her off. _"I'm very sorry about her,"_ Sawsbuck instantly said and easily jumped over the log, nudging Red with his snout gently. _"You aren't hurt, are you?"_

Red grunted as he sat up, then patted his head to tell him he was fine.

 _"Nah, he's okay, he's had worse,"_ I told him.

Sawsbuck nodded and then looked at Deerling as she swallowed the poffin. _"What have I told you about jumping like that? Apologize to Red!"_

Deerling looked instantly guilty and shyly went to Red. _"I'm sorry for knocking you over, Red,"_ she said. _"It was an accident."_

_"You need to be careful from now on. Be more aware of your surroundings."_

She nodded. _"Yes, Daddy."_

Charizard sighed when she jumped beside him happily, too young to notice his annoyance but thankfully he didn't snap or even growl at her. Maybe he had a soft spot for kids; he seemed like if he did, he wouldn't admit it to us.

 _"What are you two doing over here?"_ I asked, watching as Red got to his feet and brushed the dirt off of him.

_"We were looking for you, actually. Someone wanted to meet you."_

I frowned a little bit. _"This someone isn't a bisharp, is it?"_

Sawsbuck shook his head. _"No, why would it be? Do you know a bisharp that's looking for you?"_

I breathed a sigh of relief. _"No reason."_

He looked at the forest. _"We found him wandering around the forest and I think he got lost, so maybe it's best you take him back to town with you."_

I was confused and glanced at Charizard. He was frowning a little bit but we both looked at the trees as a human stepped out of the forest as he pulled a leaf out of his pale green colored hair—one that seemed like it had come from Sawsbuck's horns.

He saw us and then suddenly smiled, kind and warm. "I heard you were looking for me," he told us.

Red stared at him and I did as well. _"Wait, is that N?"_ I asked and looked at Sawsbuck.

The young man then looked directly at me. "I am."

I was quiet for the longest time before I finally let out a loud and startled yelp. _"Wait, what? You can really understand me? That's not a joke? White wasn't lying to us?"_

He seemed concerned but nodded. Red looked lost, looking back and forth between myself and the green-haired teenager, then stepped around the log to properly greet him.

N turned his eyes to him. "You must be Red. I've heard a lot about you."

I wasn't done questioning him, my curiosity had a firm grasp of me and I jumped onto Red's shoulder to meet his eyes. Thankfully he and Red were the same height, so I didn't have to look up when I perched on Red's shoulder. _"So, you heard everything between me and Sawsbuck? And scolding Deerling?"_

N chuckled. "Yes, I did." Then he glanced at Red again when he noticed his confusion. "I'm sorry. I am N, and your Pikachu is very talkative."

Red looked awed then looked at me. I didn't need to be a mind-reader to know he was thinking how cool it was to understand me without Espeon's help.

 _"How can you understand us?"_ Charizard asked. He seemed curious, but he stayed close to us.

"I've always been able to understand pokemon, I don't know how." We all stopped when we heard his stomach grumble and he looked embarrassed. He scratched the side of his head and then added, "Ah, Sawsbuck was right. I got lost on the way here."

Red finally smiled and nodded then climbed onto Charizard's back. He offered a hand to help N up and when he was sitting behind us, we took off and went straight for the hotel after bidding Sawsbuck and Deerling a quick farewell.

The ride there was just me interrogating N, wanting to know more about how he could understand us, but when he repeated that he didn't know, I felt disappointed. I figured out he was no psychic, but he was incredibly nice and seemed happy to hear that Charizard and I loved Red and we were one happy little family.

When I saw the hotel come into view, I watched Red pull out his pokegear and quickly text something then pocketed the small device back into his vest. I quickly saw the little screen say _Message sent to Blue Oak_ and I knew just from that he had told him we were coming with N. I was so glad we didn't have to keep looking for him and now we could spend our last few days training before our tournament started.

As we landed, I glanced inside to see Blue just coming out of the doors. "Wow, you weren't kidding," he said. Red barely acknowledged him as he recalled Charizard to let him rest. Blue then jabbed a thumb behind him. "I got everyone gathered in Black's room, so let's get going."

"Dinner first," Red interrupted.

"Dinner?" He then glanced at N and Red as they walked past him to the doors. I chuckled as he sighed, just accepting that the two were hungry.

We quickly stopped by the cafeteria to get food. Red grabbed two boxes and handed one to N, who grabbed a few things to eat immediately and I wanted to laugh when his mouth clearly watered at some of the food. Maybe it was just him being starving, I had no idea but he closed the lid to the box instead of digging right in and followed us to the elevator.

We were quiet the ride up and Blue led the way to Black's room. He knocked a few times until he opened the door. "They're here," he said and entered.

When we followed, I was surprised to see not only Black, but also Ethan, Rosa, and Nate all lounging in the room as well while White turned to face us from the kitchen and a glass of water in her hands. "Hi, N!" she said with a bright smile.

Black sat on the couch and turned around in his seat to smile at him. "Did you get lost again?" he asked.

"We don't talk about that," N answered.

Rosa and Nate were on both loveseats and they smiled when they saw him as well. "N!" Rosa said cheerfully and got up, bounding over to give the taller male a hug.

He returned it with a smile of his own, awkwardly patting her back. "Hello, Rosa. It's nice to see you again," he said as she let go.

I watched as Black gave N a fist-bump and then he glanced at Ethan. "This is N," he said as he sat down at the table. "N, that's Ethan and Togetic."

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hi," Ethan replied and gave him a smile while Togetic waved at him.

Red sat down at the table as well as N made his way to the table to eat his food. "Where've you been all day?" White asked us.

 _"Training! He put us through hell today,"_ I whined, then made a delighted noise as she scratched my chin.

"Were you training the entire time?"

Red nodded and I allowed her to pick me up and scratched the fur on top of my head. I felt like I was in heaven as she scratched behind my ears. Her nails were slightly longer than Red's constantly trimmed ones, allowing her to get a deeper massage. When she stopped, I nearly whined but I did grab her hand to make her keep scratching me and pulled it back onto my head. She laughed and obeyed and from the corner of my eye, I saw Red smiling a little bit.

We then looked at N as he closed the empty box of food and he calmly glanced at Red. I felt my mouth open on its own. How did he eat all of that so fast? "I heard you are being watched by the Shadow Triad," he said to Red.

I frowned and closed my mouth, my happy mood suddenly gone and looked at Red as he mirrored my look and nodded.

Blue was leaning against the wall and nodded as he answered, "Yes, and Alakazam said that he sensed a strange presence when we were training earlier as well. He said it was likely a dark-type pokemon, he couldn't pinpoint the location." He sighed. "It was probably our Bisharp friend that Espeon had seen a few weeks ago."

Well, that was news to me. Red gave Blue a concerned look although the latter waved it off with a quick, "We're fine."

N tapped the table once with a finger. "It is likely then all of you are being watched, not just you two," he said.

 _"Obviously,"_ I couldn't help but mutter to myself.

 _"Oh, be nice to him, Pikachu,"_ Togetic scolded.

_"What? I'm not being mean!"_

_"No, but you're being rude."_

"Obvious or not, you two should help keep an eye out for anything suspicious when you go and train," N interrupted.

I laughed as Togetic visibly flinched and yelled, _"Holy moly, you can really understand us?!"_

N blinked and kept his face blank and free of emotion. "Yes."

 _"Don't worry, I had a similar reaction,"_ I said and laughed as she gaped at him.

She looked bewildered, then looked up at Ethan, using one of her arms to point at N. _"Ethan! He can understand me! Why can't you be more like him!"_ she accused, much to Ethan's confusion and quiet, "Huh…?"

I glanced back at Red when I saw him shift slightly with unease so the others wouldn't notice. Knowing that we weren't the only ones being watched made him nervous and I went back to him, jumping into his lap to allow him to scratch my fur and calm himself.

"What does the Shadow Triad want anyway?" Rosa asked, though no one really had an answer for that. "I thought we beat them already."

"I don't know," N replied. "I am no longer in contact with them."

My hopes fell instantly. I'd hoped that he at least had some form of communication with them but with one look at Red, I wanted to tell him not to go looking for them.

N continued and we looked at him as he said, "But you say this Giovanni person was visited by them?" Red nodded once while I was surprised. When had he been informed of everything that was going on? I decided not to think about it when he looked troubled and muttered, "It is disturbing. Maybe we should ask him some more details—maybe they have come to see him again."

I shook my head instantly. _"That's not something we should do,"_ I told him and N blinked, looking at me. _"Giovanni isn't the kind of person who'll tell anyone anything so willingly. Besides, when he told us about what happened, he came to us at exactly 3:28 in the morning."_ I was still annoyed by that, I liked my beauty sleep. _"I have a feeling that he would tell us if they visit him again, though."_

"Well, then I supposed we can just wait then."

Ethan sighed. "This talking to pokemon thing is something I'm never going to get used to," he mumbled, mostly to himself but I agreed with him for the first time in history. "Can you translate?"

N did so and leaned forward to rest his head on a hand on the table. "I would suggest waiting for the Shadow Triad to relay information before doing anything else, though," he suggested.

It was really the only thing we could do unless we wanted to go see Giovanni willingly but that was something I didn't want to do and I was positive Red wouldn't want to, either.

White clapped her hands together to cause all of us to look at her. "So Blue, since we are going to wait for a call, this the later where you can explain who Team Rocket is!"

Blue rolled his eyes at her.

"Team Rocket was the biggest crime syndicate in Kanto and Johto," Ethan answered for him.

Blue sat up a little. "I don't know a lot of details about what happened, but basically Team Rocket was a group of criminals that had the most cliché goal in the world."

"World domination?" Nate asked.

He nodded at the younger trainer. "Bingo. But they didn't go around and ask for people to let their pokemon go. They started out stealing trainer's pokemon, then they quickly progressed to kidnappings, murder and took over Saffron City."

"What's in Saffron City?" Black wondered.

Blue leaned back in his seat. "Saffron City is home to Silph Co. HQ, which makes pokeballs and other trainer essential things, and we both went in there to try and get rid of them. I didn't really do anything but my pokemon were all exhausted and Red pushed forward. I helped free a lot of the pokemon they wanted to experiment on, but then Red blew up the building."

"You blew up Silph Co.?!" Rosa exclaimed.

Red sighed as Blue looked at him and said, "See? You didn't need to blow it up."

"At least I never blew up a building," Nate added.

 _"It wasn't our fault!"_ I exclaimed.

N looked disturbed, though, stirring uneasily in his seat. "Then why would Team Plasma want to team up with Team Rocket? This is very troubling."

"There isn't much we can do," Black replied and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "If we thought you were hard to find, the Shadow Triad are practically invisible." He laughed. "And you're the one who found Red."

White looked at N and asked, "You think they would at least hear you out? Call them over and ask them what the hell's going on?"

N shook his head and hesitated before answering. "Maybe. They might still listen to me but as far as I know, they answer to Ghetsis and Ghetsis alone. If I can get a chance, I will do my best."

Rosa looked at Red, grinning at him. "And you just watch out for a potential visit. Easy, right?"

 _"No, not really."_ I looked at Red as he remained silent as ever, sighing quietly again.

The sound of a chair scraping on the floor caught my attention and I saw N standing up. "Well, I wish you all the best of luck in the tournament next week," N said with a smile. "I'll be watching in…" He pulled out a ticket from his breast pocket, squinting slightly. "Section E, row thirty-four, seat seven."

"You need to get glasses, don't you?" Nate asked and laughed when he glared a little.

He stuffed the ticket back into his pocket and shook his head. "No, my eyesight is perfectly fine."

"When did you get a ticket?" Black asked, standing beside him. "I thought you didn't like battles."

"My secret," N answered and smiled as Black scowled.

Ethan flashed a smile at everyone. "And we'll kick everyone's butts, right Togetic?" he proclaimed and Togetic smiled and nodded.

Red looked at him with a face that said, _Really?_

"Oh yea, Johto boy? You're on!" Nate retorted, their friendly rivalry sparking instantly.

White spun to Black and Rosa, her eyes slightly narrowed. "And neither of you are allowed to use Reshiram or Zekrom!" she declared.

"I wasn't going to!" Rosa objected.

"Who says I can't?!" Black retorted. "You?"

"Red, right?"

Red blinked, looking between them and then at me as I shrugged. I wasn't sure what they meant by _using_ Reshiram and Zekrom, either. He smiled as White scowled at him when he didn't give her an answer.

"Fine, fine. I'm going to my room and I'm not coming out until later. Good luck, y'all need it!" she said and smiled as she exited the room.

The others exited shortly as well until N put a hand on Red's shoulder to stop him from leaving just yet. Red looked at him with a small frown. "Hilda was never like that around me," he said quietly as the others chatted with each other. "Don't hurt her."

I tilted my head a little bit as he removed his hand. Why would he tell us that? And why was he allowed to call her Hilda and not us? Red said nothing as he walked out, glancing towards N one last time before we went for the stairs to get to our room.

I looked at my trainer with a confused blink. What in the world was that sudden passive-aggressiveness I sensed from them both? I thought they liked each other! As we entered the room, I watched Red release the others and grab bowls for our dinner and eyed him as he went to the table with his own unopened box of food after giving us all food.

I decided to dismiss my thoughts before they started as I ate, my hunger taking over. When we were done eating, I told the others what happened and we were quiet for a while after that. _"We will just need to be careful from now on,"_ Venusaur said.

 _"And keep an eye out for Bisharp,"_ Blastoise added with a nod.

 _"I just want to know what they want,"_ Snorlax admitted.

Espeon sat on the bed as Red showered, curling her tail around her legs. _"Who knows? We just have to wait and see,"_ she said and sighed. _"I don't like waiting."_

 _"None of us do,"_ I told her. _"But without any leads, we have no idea where to look or even what to ask except for 'what's your evil plan we know it's evil,' or something like that."_

Espeon rolled her eyes at me.

_"What? Where's the lie, Espeon?!"_

_"This Shadow Triad seem to be really good at hiding,"_ Venusaur interrupted and glanced up as Red came out of the shower in a fresh tank top and shorts on. _"We just have to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, like go after them by himself."_

I heard Charizard snort and I could agree when he said, _"Good luck with that."_

When it came to dangerous things like that, Red was the king of doing stupid stuff. I just hoped we would be there to protect him from it.


	10. A Message

_Pikachu_

I woke up on Friday morning to a loud blaring noise and Red's hand smacking the alarm clock a moment later but I wasn't angry or even sad that I was pulled out of my dreams. I wasn't sore, I didn't feel exhausted; I felt rested enough to get up and not even feel as tired as I had been a few days before.

I was excited.

From the moment I opened my eyes, I knew what day it was. The others felt just as anxious as me and for good reason. We were finally going to see who we were going to battle next week and I jumped up to my paws as Red grumpily tried to untangle himself from the confines of the sheets.

When he finally got up and we completed our morning routine, we walked out of the room but didn't stop by the elevator immediately. Instead, we went to Blue's room and he let us in a few seconds after Red had knocked. "I'm surprised you actually got up on time today," Blue told us as we entered and I noticed his jacket hanging off the back of a chair that was in front of a bowl of half-eaten cereal. He glanced towards the alarm clock in his own room. "You're even ten minutes early."

Red didn't reply and I jumped off of his shoulder to greet Jolteon with tiny sparks that he returned.

Machamp was sitting on the couch with Alakazam and the television on some soap opera and the two briefly glanced at Red then at me. _"So, how did it go?"_ I heard Machamp ask as he turned his gaze back to the television.

I knew he didn't really care what happened between my trainer and White, but I decided to humor him and jumped up onto the couch behind the two and sat down when Jolteon went to sit next to Blue. _"Well enough. Blue and Ethan almost interrupted the breakfast date, though,"_ I answered.

 _"We did try to keep them in the rooms as long as possible,"_ Alakazam said, his legs crossed. _"I still don't understand why it's such a big secret."_

I shrugged. _"Espeon says that Red will tell him when he's ready, or something like that."_ I looked behind us to see that Blue was still getting ready to go as Red impatiently sat in a chair.

 _"She's right, you know. It's none of our business what they want to do,"_ Machamp told me and I looked back at him, seeing he was looking towards me. _"As you can see, humans are complicated things."_

_"You know this show isn't real, right?"_

He ignored me as he slammed two of his fists together. _"Now, we machamp are proud pokemon! We fight for love! The female chooses the strongest male to mate with and that's it! Simple and effective!"_

I rolled my eyes. _"If you call wrestling fighting, then suit yourself."_

 _"Barbaric sort of way to choose a mate, that is,"_ Alakazam mumbled under his breath. _"The two most intelligent in our species get together and stay that way for life. If the smartest one is female, she chooses whomever she decides to mate with. The same applies to the males."_

 _"I'm gonna go visit someone else now,"_ I said as the two began to argue about how to gain a female's trust and attention.

I jumped off the couch with ease and heard Pidgeot sigh from the sliding door. _"Thanks. You made them start to argue again and now nothing will stop them,"_ she told me.

I grinned. _"You're welcome."_ I sat down beside her, warming my fur in the sunlight. _"O.G.A.D. is a success so far. Red and White are really starting to like each other, I think."_

Pidgeot smirked. _"I thought you didn't care about that. What changed your mind?"_

_"Well Red's… different around her. He's happy when they're together and he actually talks to her, too."_

_"Impressive."_ She chuckled. _"Blue's starting to notice, too. He asked us the other day if there was something going on between those two. If I knew better, I think he's jealous he's not getting all of the attention anymore."_

I laughed. _"He would be."_ We both glanced behind as Blue finally finished getting ready and grabbed his pokeballs.

 _"I'm glad you changed your mind, Pikachu. Tell Espeon I said hello."_ She ruffled her feathers as she gave me a challenging grin. _"If we battle, we won't go easy on any of you."_

My cheeks sparked. _"You forget I can beat you and Gyarados any time!"_

 _"You'd be surprised how much we've trained, Pikachu."_ Then she disappeared back into her pokeball.

"Let's go already!" I heard Blue say and Red quirked a brow as he watched Blue open the door, standing out in the hall with his arms dramatically motioning for the elevator. "Waiting on you now, come on."

Red glanced at me, jerked his head a little towards the door to tell me it was time to go and I jumped onto his shoulder with ease as we headed out.

We met up with Ethan as he entered the elevator on our way down. The younger trainer was pumped full of energy and Blue quickly reminded him that battles wouldn't start until Monday, though that didn't disappoint Ethan and he just smiled. I rolled my eyes at him but I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. Monday was a whole weekend away, not even including the rest of today, which had just started! I pouted enough for the humans to notice and Ethan laughed, glad he wasn't alone and could share his impatience with someone.

We walked out the doors a few minutes later and at about halfway to the stadium, I heard a distant shout. I thought I recognized the voice so I looked around but blinked when I couldn't see anyone. When I heard it again, I turned my head behind us as the boys kept walking and finally a few blocks away from us, I could see White running to catch up.

She seemed to pick up the pace when she finally saw us and a little ways behind her, I watched Black struggle to keep up. I tapped Red's cheek and he glanced at me then paused to turn around to see what I was pointing at.

He finally stopped and waited for her to catch up while Ethan and Blue did the same when they realized we weren't immediately behind them anymore. "You guys walk too fast," White panted when she finally caught up and stopped beside us. She tried to catch her breath, both of her hands on her sides as she winced slightly.

"You could eat more bananas if your sides hurt," Ethan piped up and grinned as she glared at him. "I mean, you'd have to eat a lot, but it would help!"

"That's a myth and I don't like bananas," she answered. She caught her breath shortly after and by the time Black finally caught up to us, we barely let him rest until we started to walk again.

"No fair," he said as he trailed behind. "You let her catch her breath!"

"You're the one who sucks at running, not me," White said and laughed as he made a rude gesture at her.

As we neared the stadium, I noticed Red was sticking to her side and I smiled as he kept stealing glances at her and even walked closest to the street so she wouldn't have to. I jumped off soon and walked behind them on all four of my paws to observe them while rolling my eyes. When had he become such a gentleman? He never would have done that for Leaf, despite how close the two were.

I watched White for a moment, then glanced between her and my trainer. I knew she wasn't short by any means, but walking next to my trainer made it seem like she was. I briefly wondered if Red was going to grow even taller than he already was. If I looked close enough now, it looked to me that Red would grow taller than Blue and I snickered at the thought. Blue had always been taller than Red by at least a few millimeters and bragged about it but now he hardly ever mentioned it when he realized Red was catching up.

We arrived at the already full stadium shortly after, grateful we avoided any unnecessary spectators since we were running a little late and we immediately went for the conference room we had been in before. It was already full; the other champions were all inside and I felt thankful the director wasn't there yet.

We sat down near the back again, then I glanced down a few rows as I spotted Brendan tapping his foot beside Dawn and when she said something to him that I couldn't hear, he sighed and leaned back in his seat. He seemed to be impatient and being stuck in a stuffy room was obviously not part of his plan.

"I really hope we get to battle each other," Blue suddenly said and grinned at Red when he lifted his head. "I'm ready to finally beat you!"

Red gave him a raised brow instead.

"Me first!" Ethan interrupted.

"Not this again," White mumbled, mostly to herself as the doors opened loudly.

We all turned around to see the director come in but he didn't descend the steps and apologized for his tardiness. "Everyone, follow me, we will find out in the arena who you will battle!" he called out and I let out a sigh. I hadn't expected this to be a public event again.

Red seemed to feel the same but he got up anyway. We were anxious to find out who we were going to battle first and if finding out meant going out in the field again, then we would comply.

Everyone stopped near the doors to the field and the director turned to face the group. "I'll be out there and when I say 'meet your champions,' all of you walk out together and then gather to the center of the field!" he shouted above the noise, looking excited as well. "I'm just as anxious as all of you are to see who battles who and who is first!"

Then he turned around and walked out onto the field, being handed a microphone on the way out. "Welcome to the final day of the Gym Leader Circuit!" his booming voice said over the intercoms, followed by massive cheering from the entire stadium. "I want to congratulate all of the trainers that have participated in this tournament and to those who managed to make it this far!" He paused and I could see him looking around at all of the spectators as the cheering began again. "Today we will see who triumphs over the rest!" He motioned towards a screen near him as it flashed the pictures of the gym leaders that were competing today. After a brief moment, the screen went dark and he said, "Next week, we get into the champion rounds and let me tell you, those are all very exciting battles to witness! Wouldn't you all agree?"

"He's milking this too much," I heard White say and then snickered as Red nodded once.

"Why don't we all greet them one more time? Meet our champions!" He motioned dramatically towards the doors as they opened automatically.

I could barely tell who was screaming what, but I could hear all of the trainers names coming from someone and I waved when I heard someone call my name as well. We stopped in the middle of the field just like we were told and the director walked in front of the group. "Please take a look at the screens and we will all find out who battles first!"

Red and I glanced up at the nearest screen, spotting his picture among the others when suddenly the pictures moved towards the middle of the screen. Then two pictures appeared on either side of the screen with a big and orange "V.S." in the middle, and I pouted. We weren't the first ones to battle but I could see Nate grin suddenly and Dawn still remained as calm as ever from beside Brendan.

"On Monday, our first battle will be between Dawn and Nate! Next up!" As the screen did the same animation, I pouted at the end of it immediately. Still wasn't us but someone we definitely knew was up there. "Diantha versus Blue!"

Blue grinned fiercely beside us, glancing towards the woman close by as she smirked as well, the two clearly ready to battle each other immediately.

"The final battle on Monday will be between…" The director waited for the pictures to show and then he shouted, "Black and Brendan!"

I whined instantly. I wanted to battle on the first day but Red didn't give anything away for others to know he was also disappointed. Not only would we not battle Blue, but we weren't even going to battle on the first day. I really hoped that we wouldn't be battling on Friday. I couldn't wait that long!

The director moved on, not noticing any of our dilemmas. "On Wednesday, our first battle will be Steven and Lance!"

Lance's cape seemed to blow slightly in the wind as soon as his name was called and he shared a look with Steven, the two giving each other polite yet challenging nods.

I paid attention to the screen again and watched as two blacked out images flipped to the screens again and I grinned the instant I saw Red's stoic face with a smiling blond girl on the other side.

"The second match: Red versus Serena!"

At least we _finally_ knew who we were battling! Excitement coursed through me and I let out a couple of sparks as Red and Serena met each other's eyes. She looked nervous but she smiled at us anyhow.

Ethan, on the other hand, didn't even bother to hide his disappointment when he wasn't called to battle Blue nor Red and pouted as White's face came up next with Rosa's as the last match of the day on Wednesday. "I have to wait until Friday? Aw, man!" he mumbled to us and I laughed at him as White and Rosa grinned at each other and even gave each other a fist-bump. I'm glad someone was happy about who they were battling and I was eager to watch their match if they were this excited.

I laughed harder when we found out he would be the final match of the first round on Friday against Calem, who also seemed upset he had to wait that long too, but when the two met each other's eyes, they gave off a challenging look that seemed to wipe away any and all displeasure.

After a few more minutes of loud cheering and the director talking, we were allowed to go back inside and once the doors closed behind us. Red purposefully slowed down as the others went ahead, loud chatter and bickering among them although Brendan rushed down a hall towards the stairs. "Dad's the first battle today, gotta go!" he shouted to the rest of us. Then he looked at Red. "I'll be in the box and I'll save you a seat!" Then he waved before he disappeared up the stairs.

I glanced at Red curiously when he started to follow him. Had they been messaging each other without us knowing again? Maybe he hadn't been lying to us before when he had been messaging someone else, maybe that person really had been Brendan. It made me feel guilty that I thought he had been lying to us, but I quickly go over it when I grew excited.

I wanted to watch a battle! It would be fun, especially if the match was between strong trainers! I smiled at him and gave him a thumbs-up as we headed for the stairs.

"And remember we have to pick up Gramps tonight too!" Blue called after us and Red nodded as he turned around to leave.

"Have fun!" White shouted with a smile, waving as she dashed outside.

I felt excited again, my tail almost wagging as I smiled at him. _"We get to see Professor Oak again?"_ I asked. The older man was incredible plus he always spoiled us with extra treats every time we saw him. Maybe he was bringing some with him! My mouth watered and Red seemed to know what I was thinking about when he rolled his eyes at me.

He took a few steps forward to catch up to Brendan but as we finished climbing the stairs and went for the hallway towards a door that led to the box overlooking the field, a large hand slapped itself onto Red's empty shoulder and we both flinched. I hissed the instant I saw Giovanni remove his hand, raising his hat slightly to see Red properly. "I need to speak with you," he told us. "Now." Then he turned and walked towards an empty hallway and entered the closest room to us.

I glanced at Red and shook my head rapidly. I didn't trust him and neither did Red, but he gritted his teeth together before he glanced towards the doors the others had gone through then reluctantly followed him. _"I'm pretty sure we meant wait for a phone call, Red! Not go into a room alone with Giovanni!"_ I tried to tell him, language barriers be damned.

Any and all excitement and giddy joy I had felt just a few seconds earlier vanished immediately. I jumped off of Red's shoulder and made sure to stay right beside him as we opened the door to the room Giovanni had gone into. I could see Red's fingers itching towards the other's pokeballs as well, ready to fight if need be as we entered the room and closed the door behind us.

Red then watched Giovanni as he seemed to look around, almost nervously checking to make sure that we were all alone. I frowned at that. Nothing made him nervous, he was always a confident man and so sure of himself, he would laugh even if something went wrong with his carefully laid-out plans. Finally satisfied after checking the room, he turned to face us. "What do you know about the Shadow Triad?" he asked after a moment of tense silence.

Red's brows furrowed together. He didn't answer, just watching Giovanni irritably frown at him.

"I'm certain you've noticed the bisharp watching your every move, haven't you?"

My cheeks began to spark. How did he know that? How could he _possibly_ know about Bisharp? Then I felt worried and as fast as the sparks had come, they faded away. Had we been watched this whole time and not even noticed? I briefly looked at Red, but he didn't remove his eyes from the man in front of us.

When he realized Red wouldn't speak, Giovanni let out a quiet noise of indignation. "They came back last night and after what happened the first time I came to you in the middle of the night… let's just say I don't want a repeat of that."

I watched him as he leaned against the wall farthest from us, cautious of any sudden movements from the ex-mafia leader.

"They again asked for Team Rocket to join them but then warned me to stay away from the arena on Monday. I'm not sure what they're up to, they would not divulge that information to me."

Red frowned at him. Why would they warn him to stay away on Monday? I gulped quietly as I heard Giovanni let out a long and tired sigh.

He got off the wall and started to head for the door, but stopped when he was right next to Red, though neither of them made a move to turn to the other. "Tell your new friends. I trust you can figure out what they plan and why they want Team Rocket's help so much." He then adjusted his hat to the way it was before and he stepped outside, letting the door close behind him.

Red let out a breath he'd been holding and I looked up at him in worry. He looked troubled then finally he nodded at me and I followed him out of the stadium in a rush, forgetting all about Brendan and meeting him in the viewing box. We needed to tell someone—anyone who knew about the Shadow Triad and tell them the threat they had given Giovanni.

We were outside in seconds and I didn't expect to see others still here. Rosa, Nate, Black and White were standing near Serena and Blue was scowling at Ethan as the younger trainer held Calem's arm, whose blue sleeve was pulled up a little so the other could investigate the strange black bracelet around his wrist closely. "Hey, Red! Look at this!" he called and dragged his poor captive with him, causing him to nearly trip over his own feet.

Serena was with them, laughing as she watched and nodded at White. Her own arm was out so the other four could look at the thick bracelet. "Yeah, a couple can. The only one that can that I know off the top of my head is Audino, though," she told her.

"That's so cool," Nate said as Serena lowered her arm.

I tilted my head. Only one can what? Ethan reached us shortly and we glanced at the bracelet when he shoved it into our faces and I noticed it had a strange and colorful stone embedded into it. "Red, guess what this is!" he shouted excitedly.

My trainer looked at it and confused about Ethan's excitement, he shook his head.

"This is a key stone," Calem said and pulled his arm free. He lowered his sleeve. "I'm Calem, by the way." He paused and rubbed the back of his head as he grew embarrassed. "You… probably knew that already, huh?" When Red said nothing, he smiled. "Do you know what a key stone is?"

Red and I both shook our heads.

Blue came to stand beside Calem and nodded towards the key stone. "I never actually saw a mega evolution in person when I was in Kalos," he explained. "A keystone is a special gem that allows a pokemon to evolve one more stage after their final one, that is if the pokemon has their own corresponding stone." He grinned at Red's widened eyes. "You need to leave your mountain more and learn these things."

"Only a few pokemon can mega evolve, though," Serena said as she came to stand beside Calem. "You can also only do it once per battle. You need to have a close bond with your pokemon and they need to have their own mega stone, too."

"It used to only be exclusive to Kalos until someone in Hoenn started to discover that there are stones there too," Blue added, looking at the rest of us. "Most likely, Brendan, Wallace and Steven will all be able to mega evolve their pokemon, too."

Rosa looked excited, then looked at Serena. "Do you think that maybe Emboar can mega evolve, too?" she asked hopefully.

"No, but maybe in the future someone will discover their mega stone," she replied.

Rosa shrugged. "Oh well, worth a shot."

"Can you show us a mega evolution?" Black asked hopefully.

She turned to him with a mischievous look. "I'm sure if you wait for Blue and Diantha to battle, you will see one."

I didn't want to wait that long either, but we had no other choice if they weren't willing to show off their mega evolution skills.

"Anyway, we're going to go have some lunch," Calem said and glanced at Ethan with a small smirk. "I look forward to our battle, Ethan. _Bonne chance, mon ami."_ He turned around and walked away with Serena beside him.

I watched them disappear down the street and heard Nate ask, "What did he say? What did that mean?"

"He said, 'good luck, my friend,'" Blue answered and we all looked at him in shock. He understood that? He blinked in confusion and gave us an uneasy smile. "What?"

"How do you know that?" Ethan demanded.

He looked between Red and Ethan then sighed. "Why are you and Red surprised? I studied in Kalos for a few months! I didn't go there for a vacation! You two should remember that!" I looked at Red. It didn't seem like he remembered either and Blue sighed at us when he figured that out. "You two have the memory of a magikarp."

"You've been to Kalos? I've always wanted to go there," Rosa said.

As they started to discuss where they wanted to go, Red remained quiet and watched them all with his mouth set in a thin line. I scowled. He better not be thinking about _not_ telling them what Giovanni said! He seemed to sense my glare and he looked at me with a little hesitance then sighed in defeat. I huffed with victory then pointed at them. _"Better tell them before I make you get Espeon out and have her tell everyone!"_ I scolded him.

"Anyway, why are you even out here? I thought you wanted to watch the final matches today with Brendan. You two are like best buddies now," Blue accused and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Is someone jealous?" White teased, laughing as Blue's face turned slightly pink.

"No!"

Red ignored them briefly as he looked at me, seemingly understanding what I had tried to tell him and frowned a little before he turned back to the others again. "Giovanni gave me new information," he answered.

Blue turned to him right away and if one looked closely, he was worried. "Wait, when did he do that? Did he call you last night?" he asked.

Red shook his head and looked towards the doors to the stadium.

"Just now?"

"What did he say?" White questioned.

Red was quiet for a moment before he answered, "The Shadow Triad visited him again. Warned him to stay away from the stadium on Monday."

"Why?"

When he shook his head again, she shifted uneasily on her feet. "That's not a good sign."

"No, it isn't. Maybe… maybe we should tell the director," Rosa told us. I nodded in agreement. Someone else besides us should know about the potential danger they posed.

Black pulled out a pokeball. "Cofagrigus and I can find—what?" he asked as White glared at him. "Oh—oh, come on! Cofagrigus is good at pinpointing any ill will towards anyone! You know this!"

"But why Cofagrigus!" White shouted.

"Yeah, he's a little… creepy," Nate admitted and smiled as Black sighed.

"And what? You guys are going to use psychics? What's a psychic-type gonna do? They can't find dark-types and guess what a bisharp is?" He motioned towards the stadium, pokeball still in his hand. "But oh no, better not think about doing anything bad! Watch out, Reunclius is gonna read my mind!"

"Hey! Reunclius can do so much more than just read minds!" White retorted.

"Like what?" Black challenged and White narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hey, guys, stop arguing!" Rosa interjected and jumped between the two of them. Then she looked at White and Nate and said, "Cofagrigus is our best bet! Ghost-types are really good at finding any ill desires! And his cookies are amazing!"

"See!" Black shouted, looking straight at his twin as she huffed in objection. "What did I tell you?"

I looked at Red, who looked just as confused as Blue and Ethan, but we all remained quiet at the bickering Unovan champions.

I sighed after a while and stopped moving briefly when my ears twitched. I looked towards the street and looked around cautiously, thinking I'd heard something scraping across the ground. I frowned a little as I searched the direction the noise had come from but when Red picked me up, I felt grateful that we were retreating back into the stadium. I had no doubts in my mind that the noise had come from a steel-type and one that was very good at making a quick getaway.

I glanced at Red as he eyed me worriedly, noticing my distraction. I just turned my eyes away from the door and he followed my gaze. He paused at the door for a moment and looked at the others as they continued inside. He looked back at the closing doors then turned around, running away in a few seconds. The others didn't even notice us run out, too distracted on trying to find the director.

I scowled immediately when we exited but jumped off of his shoulder to run next to him. _"I didn't mean we should_ chase _the danger!"_ I scolded but watched as he looked around carefully, his eyes scanning everything around us. _"This is what gets us into trouble!"_

I knew his mind was made up, though. Nothing I could say would deter him towards the safety of the stadium even if he could understand me. He was the kind of person to go after danger and if we could prevent it, he would go in without hesitation to stop it. Sometimes I just wish he would at least get some help before running head-first without thinking.

I heard that scraping noise again and it seemed as though Red did as well and we both looked down the street across the parking lot towards the city. Past the many stalls and up the steep hill close to it, I could see Bisharp in full detail: piercing dark eyes stared straight at us and it seemed to smirk before it stood straight, turned around and started to flee into the crowds nearby.

Red wordlessly grabbed a pokeball and threw out Charizard. He jumped on his back and I followed just before Charizard took off, ignoring startled cries from nearby people and pokemon. I briefly looked back at the stadium as we flew quickly away and couldn't help but think about how angry the others would be when they learned what we were doing. I would be grateful for the lecture Lance would give Red for doing something stupid like this.

Pushing that thought aside, I looked back down at the ground and saw many pokemon with human as we flew past the stalls and over the hill, but none of them was the one we were searching for. I even saw another bisharp but it was clearly someone's pokemon and definitely not belonging to a ninja when it and the little girl it was with looked up in awe towards us.

I looked everywhere for the right bisharp then finally squinted towards the game stalls, seeing the flash of red and silver jumping over a startled human and escaped the crowds as it made a mad dash for the woods. _"There!"_ I shouted and Charizard immediately chased after it.

It nimbly jumped over a bush as we flew quickly after it. Bisharp didn't seem to expect how fast Charizard flew and glanced back over its shoulder and then tried to pick up the pace, jumping into a tree to avoid physical contact with us. It was nimble, easily crossing tree branches and dodging various pokemon that stared after us as we chased it. It even did a front flip to dodge a Thunderbolt from yours truly and kept going strong.

When we got close enough again, Red nodded at me and I ran forward as fast as I could, my cheeks sparking. I jumped off of Charizard with a loud yell and a powerful Thunderbolt, intending on stopping Bisharp from getting too far away.

Bisharp let out a pained cry when it hit and fell to the ground, his body shaking and sparking as he pushed himself back up. I grinned as I landed on the ground with ease and heard Charizard land right behind me with a growl. _"Hah! We caught you, sneaky little ninja dude!"_ I shouted at him. _"Now you can tell us why you guys are watching us! So go on, spill!"_

He looked back as Red slid off of Charizard's back and narrowed his own eyes. Bisharp glared for a bit before he smirked at us and managed to get up to his feet. I lost my smile and let sparks fly from my cheese again. Bisharp was paralyzed, what did he think he could do against two of us? _"Just a little bit farther,"_ he said and grinned as Charizard snarled.

 _"Oh, no you don't!"_ I snapped and started to run after him as he turned around and quickly started to run.

Charizard immediately followed us and used his wings to propel himself forward and lunge for Bisharp, his fist coated in fire with Fire Punch ready to strike. Bisharp tried to jump away but he went rigid as little sparks kept him immobile long enough for me to used Iron Tail and slam him back into the ground. Although it didn't do much damage, I knew that the impact on the ground had to hurt.

I sighed when it had fainted and then grinned at Charizard and I gave him a thumbs-up. _"We make a good team, Charizard, don't we?"_ I asked but then I rolled my eyes as he snorted in response. Yeah, I knew we were going to easily win, too, but he could just lighten up at least a little bit. We finally caught our stalker, after all!

We both glanced at Red when he caught up and he frowned at it then looked around, likely looking for his trainer. I sniffed the air, trying to catch any abnormal scent but shook my head at Red when he glanced at me. He sighed and had turned to Charizard to get back onto his back and fly back, but we all froze when we heard someone laugh.

I looked around the area for the source, stiff and cautious. "You really are powerful, aren't you? Almost as strong as he is," the voice said.

Red frowned and I looked up, finally spotting the black-clad, white-haired human in the tree staring straight at us. There was another Bisharp beside him, quietly watching us and I gasped in shock. I had no idea that he was up there! How long had they been up there? Were they watching us the whole time?

My eyes widened as he took leisurely fell off of the tree and landed on the ground so fluidly, I knew he had done that kind of thing for years. Bisharp followed him and I wasn't as surprised as I should have been when he didn't make a sound upon landing. "You may know who we are by name only. We are the Shadow Triad, loyal followers of Lord Ghetsis," another voice said.

The fainted bisharp was recalled and I looked to our right, seeing another human putting the pokeball away. He had an absol beside him and where she had come from, I didn't know either. I tried to calm down when I noticed the third and final human appear behind us from the bushes with yet another bisharp and a banette floating beside him. We had been so intent on chasing down the one bisharp that we didn't even notice we were going right where they wanted us to be until it was too late.

I felt both relieved and nervous that we finally confirmed that Shadow Triad were the ones that had been stalking us. I didn't like the aura they gave out, it felt calculated and dangerous, completely different to the one I sensed from Giovanni. They weren't so overconfident like he was and they stayed a fair distance away so they would have time to be able to dodge attacks if needed. I knew we needed to keep a close watch on them; the way White and the others had talked about them made me nervous that they would be able to do whatever they wanted with ease.

Charizard let out a quiet snarl as the first Shadow member seemed to smirk from behind his mask. "You are quite the observant one to have seen Bisharp from so far away," he told us.

Red furrowed his brows, silent as he carefully started to reach behind him for another pokeball. I knew that we were strong but despite our strength, we were still outnumbered and we would need help.

"We have a message for you, the trainer who disbanded Team Rocket the first time," the second member said.

It was then when I realized why White had given us a warning not to go after them by ourselves and I wished we'd listened to them and stayed in the stadium to warn the director about the threat instead. When I heard Red suddenly let out a startled and pained cry, I felt my stomach drop and whirled around to see why.

I let out a hiss and let sparks fly out of my cheeks when I saw Bisharp directly behind my trainer. The bisharp behind us had finally noticed Red had been reaching for another pokeball and grabbed his wrist, twisted his arm cruelly then pinned it to his upper back. Charizard whipped his head behind as well, smoke rising from his nostrils when we saw the bisharp though Red did not struggle as the blade on his free arm was pressed up against Red's neck. As he kicked the back of his knees to force him to kneel onto the hard dirt, Bisharp told Charizard and I, _"If you two know what is good for you, you will not attack."_

Charizard hissed. _"Let him go!"_ he snarled, though the Absol laughed at him.

 _"If either of you attack Bisharp, you harm your trainer. If you harm your trainer, you won't be able to participate in the tournament,"_ she said, smiling triumphantly.

The first Shadow Triad member calmly walked to Red, knowing neither Charizard nor I could do a thing to stop him without getting Red hurt. I hissed again despite this. If I attacked the Bisharp that held Red, the blades on its stomach would cut into his arm even more than they already were or the one digging against his neck would go right through him. Seeing it pierce his skin even a little made sparks fly from my cheeks and smoke rise from Charizard's maw.

He squatted to his level, unfazed by my trainer's hateful glare. "Lord Ghetsis wishes you hadn't disbanded Team Rocket the first time," he said, "although he believes you to be useful, alongside other competitors."

Red winced when he tried to free his arm, the bisharp holding him simply dug the sharp end of his arm deeper against his neck, making a tiny trickle of blood fall. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Lord Ghetsis knows the one called Giovanni has been relaying messages to you. We have thus forth determined he is a lost cause." He leaned closer so their faces were mere inches away from each other. "So this message is for you: stay out of our way. You do that, and we will leave you and those you love alone. Our ideals are for the greater good of the world, and we will not let anyone—champions or not—stop us this time."

Bisharp finally released Red, who nearly fell forward from the sudden release though he quickly got back to his feet, rubbing his shoulder. I tried not let relief fill me too fast; the Shadow Triad was still with us, surrounding us from going anywhere. However, their pokemon didn't seem to be that strong; they clearly got their way by using dirty and underhanded tricks to get what they wanted. Now was our chance to beat them!

I jumped in front of Red protectively while Charizard was instantly behind him, roaring at Bisharp as it jumped away to stand with its own trainer again. It seemed just as unfazed as the member did even. _"You take those two, I'll take these two,"_ I said as I hissed at Absol and the bisharp in front of us.

Charizard briefly nodded, keeping his eyes on Banette and the bisharp behind us. After a tense few seconds, Red finally directed us to use Flamethrower and Thunderbolt and we both let the attacks fly without hesitation. They were surprised how fast we attacked and I pouted when Absol protected herself with Protect. I jumped up to deflect a Metal Claw from the Bisharp with Iron Tail and jumped into the air, preparing another Thunderbolt.

"Sucker Punch, Absol!" Absol's trainer commanded and I yelped when the dark-type slammed her paws into me, stopping my attack as well. I winced as I landed on the ground, hearing the battle behind us still going on.

Then I looked to our right, my eyes widening when I saw the third member smirk and pointed his arm towards us. "Water Shuriken, Accelgor!"

The water-type move was unexpected and hit Charizard after he burned the bisharp beside Banette, sending him flying past me. _"Charizard!"_ I cried, then hissed and let a Thunder fly towards the bug-type.

Briefly glancing back after cursing at the bug when it got back up, I saw that Bisharp faint and I could've sworn the sharp blades on its mid-section had melted a little. I quietly reminded myself never to piss off Charizard, shuddering slightly as the burned steel-type was recalled. Red reached back for another pokeball, seeing that yet _another_ bisharp had been called out to help Absol and Accelgor. We were getting overwhelmed quickly, and in this fight, Snorlax would be the best help we could get—

"Shadow Ball, Banette!"

I spun around to try and deflect that attack as well before it hit me, but when I saw it fly towards Red instead, my heart skipped a beat. I cried out for him and while I was glad he tried to dodge the attack, he was too slow to avoid it completely. He rose both of his arms to block it as best he could from hitting his head, but it stunned him long enough for another Shadow Ball to hit his chest and flung him into the tree nearest to him like it was nothing.

I immediately abandoned the battle I was in, rushing over to him when I saw his head bounce off of the tree trunk, causing him stay on the ground. _"Now isn't the time for a nap!"_ I shouted, shaking his shoulder to keep him up. It was a lost fight and he closed his eyes completely after a few moments, succumbing to unconsciousness. _"Red, wake up!"_

Charizard was in front of us two quickly and the Shadow Triad directly facing us now, though they made no move to attack again. "We will bring glory back to Team Plasma and Lord Ghetsis!" one of them said, but I couldn't tell which one.

The one in the middle hunched over a little, preparing to jump and the other two soon followed. "We will meet again," he said and as quick as a flash, they were gone, leaving nothing but the sounds of the forest behind.

Charizard roared, fanning his wings open to go after them but I grabbed his tail, causing him to look at me with fury. _"What are you doing?! We need to go after them!"_ he snapped at me.

 _"We can't leave Red here like this!"_ I objected.

He let out a snarl and looked back at the trees the Shadow Triad had disappeared into and then finally quieted down, folding his wings against his back again.

I released a breath I'd been holding then looked back at Red in worry before trying to think of what to do. We were in the middle of the woods, far from the city and Charizard looked hurt as well and likely needed to rest before he could fly anywhere. Luckily it didn't seem like he'd injured anything major, but we didn't have any potions with us, we'd left everything back in our hotel room. We were stuck until either Red woke up or we could fly out of here.

I cursed under my breath and then tapped on the others pokeballs, knowing they would be able to help. Blastoise was beside Red in an instant, frowning at the cuts on his arm and gently ran his large paw over his arms. _"What happened?"_ he demanded us.

I looked down at the ground as it became greener and gave Venusaur a grateful face as he used Grassy Terrain to help us slowly heal from our battle. _"We were attacked by the Shadow Triad,"_ I answered and looked back up at Blastoise as he carefully checked the back of Red's head to make sure there wasn't any injury there.

 _"Why didn't anyone bring us out to help then?"_ Espeon asked, scowling. _"We could have helped!"_

Charizard started to growl, causing them to look at him. _"The cowards attacked him when he tried,"_ he said.

Snorlax and Venusaur shared a look of concern. _"They couldn't have been that strong,"_ Snorlax said to us after a brief moment of silence.

I shook my head. _"They weren't. We were outnumbered and they would have killed Red if we had done anything."_ I nodded towards Red and stared at his neck where the blade had pierced his skin. _"They could still be here, they were waiting for us."_

 _"So you all ran straight into a trap?"_ Venusaur asked and Charizard and I didn't answer, too guilty to acknowledge it.

We then looked straight at Red as he winced and opened his eyes then sat up slowly. He rubbed the back of his head and Blastoise helped him sit up a bit. Espeon's gem immediately began to glow and she asked, _"Are you okay?"_

Red nodded, then seemed to regret it immediately as he winced.

 _"You need to tell someone what happened, Red,"_ Snorlax told him.

"I know," he muttered, glancing at the cuts on his arm.

Venusaur used a vine to help him up to his feet and once he was sure he would remain upright, he retracted said vine. _"First, we have to clean up your arm before it gets infected,"_ he told him.

I nodded in agreement. _"Can you fly us back to the room, Charizard?"_ I asked, worried about how quiet he had gotten.

He nodded wordlessly and watched as Red recalled the others then lowered himself so he could get on to his back easily. I jumped up in front of our trainer as he took off.

We rode in uneasily silence all the way back to the hotel, suffering from our very first loss.


	11. Acceptance

_Charizard_

Humans held many strange and fascinating views of pokemon trainers. The more powerful they were, the more respected they were. The beginner trainer held neither respect nor authority amongst humans and pokemon—tame or wild—and the younger the trainer, the harder they had to work for it.

We were no different. We weren't looked upon at first, quite possibly because a simple reason: Red was young. The people believed a ten-year-old boy could not defeat all eight gyms and the champion, much less take down a criminal organization the international police had been after for years before his eleventh birthday.

When I joined the team, he was already beginning to turn heads with unwanted attention from all around beginning to follow the boy wonder. We proved to the entire region that they shouldn't judge a book by its cover, that we were more powerful than most. The moment we defeated Team Rocket, eyes from all around Kanto were on us during the Elite Four and Championship matches. Who knew that one, let alone two kids could defeat Lance, who had been reigning as champion for nearly six years could be defeated by two kids from a small town?

Many would say things about my team about our trainer didn't have the strongest breeds of pokemon or even why he didn't have much variation in the team. Even though we were all different types, many of our foes were surprised whenever we would so easily take them down. Each of us were different and after some time, humans and pokemon alike began to assume what each of our personalities were and what status we held in the team.

Pikachu was known as our small yet powerful leader, the quickest of the group that held magnificent power in that tiny body of his. He could take down foes hundreds of times larger than he without wasting a breath and even used his tail to help him jump to heights that could still startle our trainer. He was usually never seen inside his pokeball unless he was knocked out, in which case Red usually carried him in his arm if it was not an official battle.

Blastoise was the motherly one in our group, often caring for us when we became ill or injured and was a stickler for cleanliness. As much as we fought and argued with each other, I respected him and his strength to protect our team if I was unable to.

Snorlax would continually surprise opponents and others by his strength and wits. Sure, he still had the natural instinct to eat everything in sight, but the way he willingly got into battles and win made our opponents think twice about underestimating the normally placid and sleepy species.

Espeon was the most obvious: she was the most intelligent but also the most mysterious. Her personality could switch from being a cuddling pokemon from her days as a pet to a fierce competitor at a moment's notice. She was the most mischievous one, often getting others in trouble from her many antics and outrageous plans and if she was ever caught, she would somehow rope the rest of us into the blame.

Venusaur was our graceful shield despite his large size. Every move he used was something to look at, he never used a move he felt would be a waste of energy and time. His many combinations in battle made him a worthy adversary to any powerful pokemon opposite of his own type and expressed interest in contests upon occasion. He was the one I went to for advice and I knew I wasn't the only one.

It came as no surprise to anyone that I was the silent one, often compared to our trainer with our speaking aloud. When need be, though, I was able to quiet anyone with a single roar and my aerial attacks and speed in the air were unmatched.

Our trainer was the stubborn glue that held us all together, helping us perfect strategies and even teaching us how to use two separate moves at once when the situation called for it. He would help us get back up when we were down and he was always there when we needed him.

We weren't just a team; we were a family and even though Red caught all the pokemon he could from Kanto, he never switched his team, instead giving them to Professor Oak for his studies. Both of them believed in the potential in each and every single one. This was no different for any of us.

Much like they had been before, I had been a weak pokemon myself—a young Charmander that decided he was smart enough to leave the nest a little early though hardly able to take on a single Oddish. My previous trainer, although he tried his hardest, simply could not help me train to the level I wanted to be and as such I refused to listen to any command given by him. My hopes were not high after that; I thought I would never reach a level that would surpass anyone else.

Since I didn't have any respect for that trainer, I decided he should at least prove himself a capable trainer. However, when he proved time and time again that he was not a capable trainer, I refused to listen to anything he told me to do. One sunny day later, he gave my pokeball to Red, who was delighted to have a fire-type on the team.

I naïvely assumed that, because of my previous human, this human would also be weak compared to all the other pokemon trainers out there in the world—especially since he was far younger. Red was frustrated at first that I would not listen to him or even look at him but he refused to give up on me even after the consistent use of Scratch to his face (Pikachu and Bulbasaur hadn't particularly enjoyed that). The first time I heard him speak was him simply asking for me to trust him.

"Charmander," he had told me, "I know you don't like me. I know you want to get stronger. In order to do that, I need you to listen to me. I need you to trust me."

Despite my arrogant stance and my paws crossed across my chest, I finally looked at him straight in the eyes for the first time ever since joining his team almost a month before. The fiery determination was clear in his eyes and silently he told me that everything would be all right, that he wouldn't leave me behind.

After that, I decided to finally start listening to him and the rest pretty much worked itself out.

He would not accept defeat even in the face of a losing battle. He would turn it around with quick thinking even at his young age, guiding not only myself but the rest of the team to defeat any opponent. When I won my first battle—against a graveler of all things—I astounded even myself. How could I, a weak fire-type defeat a _graveler_ in my first battle with my new trainer?

I could only stare at Red as he walked and gave me his 'good job' smile and led the way through the dirt path and up a hill. As I watched him walk past me, I knew I saw something. I was filled with a feeling of unforgettable hope and the sight itself was something I would never forget: it was as if a great light had been cast right in front of him and he was fearlessly walking towards it, towards our goal to become champion.

He stopped, turned away from the light to face me and said, "If you believe in yourself, then move forward and I will help you achieve your dreams."

I knew this trainer was going to be one that would be revered among many and my eyes widened in sudden respect and loyalty.

He offered his hand to me, still smiling confidently and I fearlessly took it.

\---

In Kanto, Team Rocket didn't have ninjas or special ninja pokemon or anything remotely ninja-like. They weren't super-human beings that could disappear without a moment's notice and they also couldn't be as silent as a ghost-type pokemon or surprise as badly as the Shadow Triad did. The point being, we had not expected the Shadow Triad to attack like they had, not in a million years and the question that ran through all of our minds was just one word: _Why?_

We had no idea why they would come after us of all people competing and then lure us into a trap—which was done splendidly, but you'll never hear me say that out loud. However, it led back to the famous _why_ we all asked each other.

Of all the people competing, why would they come after us? What did they hope to accomplish by getting Team Rocket on their side? Why would they strike during a tournament full of the world's best pokemon trainers? I also wondered what their true purpose was. I had no idea what the Shadow Triad had meant when they told us about governing the world based on their ideals. Did they want to take over the world? I scoffed at the thought, doubting that was their true intention.

With everything that had just happened, I was completely confused and my brain felt like it would explode from the stress and unanswered questions filling my head. Why this was happening at all, especially at a time like this, was confusing to everyone.

I let out a sigh to try and calm my overactive mind and turned my eyes towards the bedroom when I heard the water run in the bathroom.

Red let out a small hiss of pain as he washed out the cuts on his arm in the sink, the ice-cold water likely doing no good other than numbing the pain. I stayed in my corner of the living room as Blastoise scolded him for washing them wrong and started to properly clean the cuts for him.

Pikachu had complained after we arrived about his leg hurting and while my own wings were sore and the left one still hurt, I didn't voice it. I was the one who had allowed this to happen, anyway. I should have sensed that we had been walking right into a trap, I should have seen the Shadow Triad from a mile away. I hadn't because I was too focused on catching Bisharp to do anything else.

I curled up with a frown, disappointed in myself. We should have been more than strong enough to beat them, but instead they had gotten to our trainer and threatened his life. I briefly looked up as Blastoise exited the room with a towel in his claws and a grumpy Red following him.

Blastoise laid the towel on the table and then pointed to a chair for Red to sit in with a claw. I could hear Pikachu snickering at him, telling Snorlax and Venusaur that the water-type was the only who could command our human like that as Red stuck his arm out for Blastoise to take care of once he had grabbed a little white box with a red cross on it. The cuts didn't look like they were anything serious, but they were deep and still bled a little bit.

I was watching them because I was trying to ignore Espeon. She was uncharacteristically silent and stared at me the entire time Blastoise put disinfectant onto Red's cuts and put small bandages over them to make sure they wouldn't get infected over the rest of the day. She never stared at me unless she wanted something a not wanting nor feeling like getting into one of her so-called brilliant plans, I kept my eyes off of her.

I finally stole a glance towards her when I heard her jump off of the couch and walked to me, sitting down just in front of my head. _"What?"_ I finally asked when she still said nothing.

She smiled and pushed her head against my snout, a show of complete trust from her species. It always felt touching when she did it, she hardly showed affection towards us since usually she was cuddling with Red instead and I let out a quiet yet pleased grumble. _"Don't beat yourself up so much,"_ she answered. _"Red is okay. I know you did everything you could."_

I frowned slightly. _"I let us get caught in their trap. I should have seen what was going on—"_

 _"Stop it,"_ she interrupted with a stern tone. She shook her head as I snorted quietly. _"You're beating yourself up."_

I went silent and huffed after a few seconds of quiet.

She chuckled at me instead. _"Why do you battle?"_ she suddenly asked me, licking her paws.

I was caught off-guard at the sudden question, slowly blinking. _"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean why'd you stay with us? With Red?_ _I stayed to battle with him because if I did not, I would be a fat, lazy eevee with too much time on my hands."_

_"And no one would want that."_

_"Hey, I have good ideas… sometimes!"_

I rolled my eyes at her but her question was all too easy to answer. _"I battle to get stronger, to become the strongest one in the sky."_

She tilted her head and set her paw onto the floor. _"No, it isn't."_

I scowled. I was pretty sure she could read the answer in my mind without me even thinking about it. _"Yes, it is."_

Espeon was stubborn and walked to my side and plopped herself against my side where it was warmest. I didn't move away and allowed her to get comfortable right next to me. _"You do not battle to get more powerful. You do not battle because it makes you happy."_

_"And how would you know any of that?"_

She laughed. _"For someone so smart, you can be dumb."_

I rolled my eyes at her. That sounded like Pikachu after he'd yelled at her several times during our journey through Kanto.

_"You are already strong. You are stronger than most pokemon we fight. Even water-, rock- and electric-types have a hard time battling you and you know this. So why do you truly battle?"_

For once, I really didn't know what to say. It had always been about getting stronger, to become better than everyone else. For that not to be my reason made me try and think of another reason, but it was difficult for myself to think of one. We continued to stare at each other in silence and finally I was the one who looked away, unsure of the answer as I looked at my claws.

If it wasn't about becoming stronger, then what was it? I poured everything into my training and our battles, I was second only to Pikachu on our team. I was faster than Pidgeot, stronger than Feraligatr, yet I had allowed a simple Bisharp harm my trainer. I shook my head at myself. I was starting to beat myself up again, then turned my eyes to Espeon as she seemed to sense my internal struggle.

She chuckled quietly as she looked back up at me. _"You don't battle for yourself. You don't battle to become more powerful, 'cause let's face it, you're one of the stronger ones on the team."_ She turned her head and I followed her gaze, which was resting on our trainer as he picked at the bandages Blastoise had put on. _"You fight to protect your family. You stayed to protect him."_

I remained silent, keeping my eyes on Red as he got up from his seat to head for the couch, his pokegear in his hands as he texted away on the tiny thing. I frowned slightly. _"I wasn't strong enough to protect him today,"_ I finally said to her, looking back down at her.

_"Then do you believe he blames you for what happened? That he thinks you're the reason you were attacked?"_

I frowned. I knew he didn't, I also knew that he would more worried about us than himself.

Espeon flicked her ears a little. _"He would never, ever blame you for anything that happens, Charizard. He believes in you, we all do."_

I eventually grumbled under my breath again then told her after a brief moment of silence, _"Sometimes, I wish I could just burn you to a crisp."_

She glared up at me but it wasn't a serious one. She knew that I was jesting. _"Hey!"_

I smirked. _"Then other times you make us feel better."_ I nudged her a little with my maw. _"Thank you, Espeon."_

She looked quite proud of herself after that, nestling into my scales even more to nap.

As she began to fall asleep, I glanced at Red. He had Pikachu in his lap and while the television was on, he wasn't paying any attention to it. Instead, he seemed to be lost in thought, his face grim and stared blankly at the pokegear. He finally lifted his hat a little bit and ran his other hand through his dark hair, although it did little to settle his naturally messy hair before he put the hat back on.

He texted something on his pokegear again and instantly scowled at it when it rang after he sent a message, clicking on the decline button so it would quiet down again. He set it down and finally looked at me, sensing I had been staring again. He glanced down and set Pikachu down onto the couch before he got up and walked to me. He sat down beside Espeon though he was glancing towards my wing, gently inspecting the joint where it connected to my body with his hands. I sighed and reached over with my head, nudging his arm gently to get him to stop. _"It's just a pulled muscle. It'll heal on its own,"_ I tried to tell him and let out a low grumble when he scratched under my chin.

 _"Ah, let him worry about you,"_ Blastoise told me, grinning as I frowned at him. _"If you want, I can ice it for you?"_

I shook my head. Not like ice would do much for me, it would melt before it could even work its magic on my naturally warm body. We all flinched when there was a loud pounding against the door. "I know you're in there and if you don't answer, I'm going to have Machamp break the door down and make you pay for the repairs!" Blue's voice shouted from behind it.

Red sighed loudly, clearly not in the mood to deal with him but he got up anyway. None of us knew if he would follow through with his threat, he had made similar ones before and followed through on a few.

As soon as he opened the door, Blue stepped in and closed it quickly behind him. "Didn't we _specifically_ tell you not to go alone when we looked for N before?" Blue scolded though Red turned around instead, heading for the table to sit down at it. "Arceus, you really don't know how worried we were, do you?"

I watched as his eyes trailed down to the bandages on his arm and he stepped around the sleeping Snorlax in the middle of the room to quickly follow him. "Nu-uh, you aren't going to get away from answering this time, Red. What happened to you? I can recognize Blastoise's handiwork anywhere."

Red briefly glanced at his arm and shrugged.

"Where did you go? One minute you were behind us and the next you were gone! Poof!" Blue sat across from him, looking irritated. "We had to look around for anything Team Plasma related without you and now Lance knows something is going on, too. He wants to see you when you get a chance, by the way."

Red snorted, putting his elbow on the table and propped his head on it.

"What? You still angry at him? You know what, Red? Get over it. I don't like that Giovanni's here any more than you do but you don't see me throwing a tantrum about it."

My trainer glared at him.

Blue returned the look and crossed his arms again. "You gonna tell me what happened then?" He nodded towards Red's bandaged arm. "How'd you get hurt?"

"It's nothing serious," Red finally said, purposefully looking outside instead.

"I don't care. What. Happened?" He sounded frustrated and I couldn't blame him. Trying to pull answers out of Red when he didn't want to talk was like pulling teeth. He was stubborn as hell but thankfully Blue learned long ago how to deal with it. "You know two can play the stubborn game."

Red looked at him again, slowly growing irritated as Blue leaned back in his seat, getting comfortable until finally my trainer sighed loudly. He knew just as well as everyone else that Blue wouldn't leave us alone until he got what he wanted. He rose his arm to let the brown-haired trainer see the thin bandages. "Bisharp," he told him.

Blue looked confused for a moment before he furrowed his brows. "Bisharp?" After a brief moment, something clicked in his mind and he slammed his hands onto the table as he stood again. "Are you crazy, Red?!" he scolded immediately.

Red already looked done, hiding his arm under the table again.

"Please don't tell me you actually ran away to find them by yourself." He threw his hands up in exasperation as Red refused to look at him. "Never mind because of course you did!" He sighed, trying to calm himself down. "You always do stupid stuff like this! You're going to get yourself seriously hurt someday!"

I wanted him to put himself in our shoes and try telling him that over and over for seven years.

When he was quiet for a few seconds, Red finally asked, "You done?"

Blue gave him an aggravated look as he sat back down into his chair loudly. "No, I'm still mad at you."

Red gave him a small smirk but lost it soon. "They told me they their ideals were for the greater good and told me to stay out of their way." _Or they would hurt someone_ went unsaid but Blue understood then he frowned.

"Then why stay away from the tournament on Monday? They plan on attacking it?"

My trainer shook his head, not knowing the reason either.

Blue sighed again, looking nervous. I knew he was the second match of the day and a group of people threatening to do something wouldn't bode well for the tournament nor anyone else attending. "Then why do they want Team Rocket on their side so bad?" he wondered out loud. "I don't get it. What are they trying to do? What's the point in threatening a tournament that has the world's strongest trainers competing against each other? They would lose against us in any kind of battle, wouldn't they?"

Red remained quiet, then glanced back towards us, looking to see if we had any idea either but none of us spoke up.

Blue got up soon after, getting ready to leave. "Brendan was upset you ditched him, too, but he helped us look around for anything when he found out what we were doing."

I was a little happy that we had another ally, it would make it easier to find out what the Shadow Triad wanted.

Blue then smirked, making me curious until he said, "Oh, and White was worried about you too, you know. You should probably let her know that you're okay." He then grinned at him. "You guys a thing yet?"

Red's face turned pink and shook his head rapidly as Blue laughed, trying to relieve some of his own stress.

"I can see the way you two look at each other, you guys aren't really good at hiding it."

As he left, I glanced at my trainer. Red was staring at the door then made a quiet noise as he picked the pokegear back up. I didn't fully condone his growing relationship with the young woman, we had more important things to do and worry about.

That blush on his face had told me otherwise. He wasn't actually falling for someone he hardly knew, was he? Pikachu and the others seemed to be convinced that he was but I knew that when it came time for us to leave, we would most likely never see her again and we did have champion responsibilities to keep up with.

I watched as Red pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly looking tired and he got up, heading for the bedroom. I remained where I was, putting my head on the ground comfortably with Espeon still attached to my side and closed my own eyes to nap. I would worry about it later.

\---

When I woke up, it was still light out but only barely. Espeon had moved from being curled into herself to laying on her back in her sleep, her paws twitching every now and then as she dreamed. I yawned and lifted my head, gingerly testing my wing and felt satisfied when no pain came with it.

I gingerly got to my own legs, not wanting to wake up our youngest teammate. I could see Venusaur sitting next to the windows again with his petals out and Red sat right next to him, leaning against his large body with one of the many magazines that had been in the coffee table in his hands.

 _"Oh look, sleeping beauty is finally awake,"_ I heard Pikachu snicker.

 _"We're expecting Lance soon,"_ Snorlax told me instead, popping an oran berry into his mouth.

I rolled my eyes. Wonderful. Lance was a highly intelligent and caring man, although strict and set in his ways. It was many of the reasons he and his cousin did not get along and why Red didn't like being with him for long periods of time. Even I could tolerate the man only slightly.

Despite all of that, he tended to keep an eye on us, especially after we ventured to Mount Silver alone and I knew he would send Red messages over the pokegear occasionally to check on him and make sure he was still alive in the frozen wasteland. Red's mother told us once that it was like he was an acting older brother figure in her son's life and she couldn't have been more grateful to have someone like him keeping an eye on him when she could not.

I mumbled under my breath as I heard a knock on the door. Espeon slept right through it as Red got up and answered it, already knowing who to expect. Lance smiled when he saw my trainer, his sharp features looking even more sharper in the fluorescent lights of the hallway. "I haven't gotten a chance to say a proper hello until now," he said.

Lance was a very tall and thin man, easily taller than even Giovanni was though Red glanced up at him as he walked in and sat down on an empty loveseat in the living room. "You aren't still mad at me, are you?" he asked as Red quietly sat on the couch instead.

Red gave him a _what do you think_ face.

"Hey, it wasn't up to me. If any of us had our way, Giovanni would still be in prison. But we can't do anything about it now. What we can do, however, is talk about this little stunt you pulled today." He leaned forward and Red sighed. "Blue told me what happened. Ethan confirmed that you had just vanished at the stadium." He paused and he lost his smile as his eyes grew hard yet concerned. "What were you thinking, Red? You could have really gotten hurt."

"I'm fine," my trainer insisted. Two lectures in one day wasn't something he didn't want to do, and he had little patience for Lance to begin with. I glanced at my side as Espeon woke up from the noise, blearily blinking at Lance and Red before she yawned and stretched. She got up to her paws and walked over to our visitor, rubbing herself against his legs as a greeting.

"Right, if by fine you mean getting yourself hurt, then you're absolutely right." Lance then reached down to scratch Espeon's head. "Hello to you too, Espeon."

Espeon let out a quiet purr before she jumped onto the couch to sit beside Red and pushed herself underneath his hand so he would pet her.

Lance leaned forward with a small frown with a serious face. The movement caught my trainer's eye and he watched him put his hands together in his lap. "We didn't find anything out of the ordinary at the stadium but we will keep a close eye on it. I have suggested to the director to increase the security, keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

Red frowned slightly and stole a glanced towards me. I knew what he was telling me. No one there would notice the Shadow Triad either.

"Black gave us descriptions of what they look like, so we at least know what to look for. If you're so insistent on going after them, I know I can't stop you. What I can do is help you, though."

We all stared at him with surprise as the dragon master straightened again. It was shocking to hear him offer his help; he was generally was far too busy to even notice anything going wrong until someone informed him of it.

Red let out a disbelieving sigh. "Why?" he asked out loud.

"Because Professor Oak and your mother would kill me if I let something happen to you."

He rolled his eyes as Lance smiled a little.

The man pushed himself up from his seat, causing us to look at him. "Just promise me you'll ask for help. That's all I'm asking." He turned around and headed for the door and paused after he opened it. "And tell me if you find out anything else, okay?"

Red gave him a brief nod to satisfy him and when he was gone, my trainer slipped off the couch until his head was bent at an awkward angle against the back of the couch with an annoyed groan. I couldn't see how that was comfortable but he stayed there as Snorlax chuckled.

 _"He's not that bad, Red. He's just looking out for you,"_ he told him after Espeon's gem started to glow.

Red let out a quiet noise. "He's annoying," he mumbled.

 _"He cares about you. Let him worry about you,"_ Venusaur said.

Red finally sat up and got off the couch to peel off the bandages that stuck to his skin. After he tossed the old ones away, he inspected the cuts, poking at the scabs gently to make sure they weren't bleeding anymore. Blastoise sighed at him. _"I remember telling you to keep them on until tomorrow,"_ he told our trainer.

Red didn't seem to care as he lowered his arm. "I'm _fine_ ," he repeated. Then he looked at the door in annoyance when there was yet another knock.

 _"Why are we getting so many visitors today?"_ Pikachu asked with a huff. It seemed like Red wasn't the only annoyed one.

Espeon just chuckled and nodded to Red, letting him know it was okay to answer it.

I frowned slightly when I saw White on the other side and Red let her in. She looked worried and looked at his arm when she saw the cuts on his arm. "Are you okay?" she asked him. When he nodded, the worry vanished from her face and she scowled. "I did tell you not to go after them alone, didn't I?" she scolded and jabbed her finger into his chest.

Red winced a little and rubbed the spot she had poked, watching her quickly lose her anger with a sigh.

"What happened? Did you see Bisharp again?"

He nodded as he muttered, "We chased it into the forest."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You saw them, then?"

He didn't answer, instead sitting down on the couch one more time and she followed him, sitting beside him.

They were quiet for a while, turned the television on and stared at the screen for a few minutes. Finally, during a commercial break, White smiled a little. "They're creepy, aren't they?"

Red glanced at her and seemed amused then nodded.

"Makes me wish I could be a ninja, too. Could you imagine all the pranks I could pull on Black?" She snickered and Red smiled as well.

"I can't imagine the pranks you'd pull on anyone."

I watched them with a slight frown. Red really was completely relaxed around her, Pikachu hadn't been lying when he told us he would speak to her far more than he would to Leaf. He also couldn't keep his eyes off of her when she was talking either but soon, they fell into a comfortable silence and he glanced towards me after a while.

I knew he wanted to go flying and when he turned his eyes back to White, his face turned slightly pink. I couldn't understand why he was so attracted to her and I hoped it was just a crush that would fade over time.

Red sat up a little bit. "Do you want to go flying?" he asked her.

She glanced up at him before she smiled a little. "Sure," she answered after a few seconds.

He nodded and recalled the others though Pikachu refused, dashing outside to wait for us on the balcony. I sighed. He really was too eager about this now and I was convinced he really never did have any doubts or dislike regarding their interactions. I let out a sigh as I got up, following him out. _"Now you'll see how they're really like, and then I'm sure you'll help us out with O.G.A.D.,"_ Pikachu told me, grinning as I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time that day.

"Have you ever ridden a charizard before?" Red asked White as they stepped outside on the balcony with us.

She looked up at me then shook her head. "No, but Rosa has a hydreigon and I've seen her ride it. I'd imagine it's easy, right?"

My trainer smiled a little and looked at me that clearly told me to go easy while flying. "It's not the same as riding another flying-type, or being carried by one."

Then a brilliant, fascinating and amazing idea came into my head. An idea so petty that I knew a twinkle appeared in my eye and I struggled not to grin and let the humans know what I was starting to plan. _"I don't like the look on your face,"_ Pikachu told me suddenly as he jumped onto my head, holding onto my horns. _"Why do you look like Espeon right now? What are you planning?"_

I glanced at him as Red helped White get on behind him. _"Just hang on tightly,"_ I told him.

He scowled at me but sighed. _"I'm scared for my life right now,"_ he mumbled.

I fanned my wings as soon as I felt Red's heel gently tap me to let me know they were ready. As soon as we got into the air, I heard White squeak but I gently cruised up high and eventually leveled out. I briefly glanced back, seeing White's awed face and holding onto Red tightly while I felt Pikachu stiffly remaining where he was, still cautious about what I was planning to do.

"This is so cool," White said after a moment, letting go of Red to stick her hands out to feel the cool breeze pass by us.

Red smiled and then looked at me when he felt me flap my wings powerfully once. He gave me a stern face that clearly told me, _don't do anything crazy,_ but I smirked at him instead. I gave no warning to any of them before I suddenly folded my wings closely against myself. I dove sharply, happy to hear White instantly yelp, but Pikachu let out an excited _whooping_ noise.

As I turned my body slightly, I opened my wings again to do a full circle in the air and felt White tightly hold onto me with her legs and I was sure she was squeezing Red's waist just as tightly. Instead of sensing her scared like I wanted her to be, however, she was growing excited just like Pikachu and I huffed when I saw her begin to smile through my spinning.

I scowled, determined to get rid of her excitement as I flew up in a straight, vertical line and felt Red cling onto me so he wouldn't fall off with one arm but the other was holding his hat. Then instead of climbing any higher, I simply stopped flapping my wings and let us free-fall through a cloud upside-down. I heard her scream, but it wasn't one of fear and I let out a quiet growl, growing frustrated when I realized she was not afraid of flying like this.

Red was silently begging for me to stop and begrudgingly I obeyed, snapping my wings open to right myself and level us out again and peacefully glide through the darkening sky.

I felt their grips relax and heard White begin to laugh. "That was amazing!" she shouted after a moment. Her ponytail was messy but she didn't seem to care, a bright smile on her face.

Red seemed surprised and glanced at her. "I'm sorry, he doesn't normally do that," he apologized.

"What's there to be sorry about? It was fun!" She even looked straight into my eyes and I could see the fire in her blue eyes. "Do it again!"

Pikachu laughed. _"So she's an adrenaline junkie!"_ he said, laughing some more at my annoyance.

Red instead glanced down at the ground and directed me to land on the cliff just above the beach we always went to. I obeyed and landed as gently as I could, glancing back when the two humans slid off of my scales. Red looked at me with a raised brow but patted my shoulder in thanks before he went to sit on the ground in front of the fallen log.

I rolled my eyes instead and huffed at him, making sure a little smoke hit his head.

White sat down beside him as well and brought her knees close to herself, twiddling with her fingers in her lap. They were silent for a time, absorbing the amazing view as the stars began to appear in the sky.

They were quiet for a long time, content with just watching the setting sun until finally White broke the silence. "That really was fun, even if Charizard doesn't really like me," she said. I just pretended not to pay any attention and lay down beside the log on Red's other side. She looked up at Red again, smiling. "Maybe we'll battle in the tournament." She fell silent as she hesitated. "That… won't change anything, right?"

Red blinked and shook his head, slightly confused.

"Good, I'm glad." She suddenly leaned into his side, causing his face to turn red.

Pikachu rolled his eyes at him, sitting on a rock that was near them and while White stared off into the distance, Red glanced at Pikachu. Pikachu was moving his arm a little bit, trying to tell him to hold her.

 _"I don't think you should encourage this, Pikachu,"_ I mumbled but he rolled his eyes at me.

 _"You'll like her I promise!"_ he told me. _"She wasn't scared of flying like Leaf was when you first took her up. That counts for something, doesn't it?"_

He was right. I was impressed that White hadn't been absolutely terrified of the death-defying stunts I pulled in the sky, even going so far as to ask to do it again. I watched her for a moment as Pikachu motioned to Red again to move his arm until he finally understood.

He seemed hesitant at first, but finally wrapped his left arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Her face erupted into a bright blush as well, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she smiled. "I never really realized how warm humans really are," she said. "Well, I—I mean, pokemon are warm too but… not quite like this."

Red smiled a little bit and seemed to understand what she meant. "Mm," he responded.

"I've never had someone hold me like this before."

"If it's any consolation, I've never held anyone before," he replied quietly and she erupted into a fit of giggles.

"You're doing a good job of it." She moved a bit, making him look at her. "I like it. Don't you?" When he nodded, her face brightened and she looked at the calm waves of the ocean again. "Today was hectic. Please just promise me you won't pull a stunt like that again."

He was quiet for a moment before he glanced at her. "I'll try not to."

Satisfied, she nodded. "Okay. I—I can accept that, I guess." Her face turned pink all of a sudden when Red looked back at the ocean, watching the stars beginning to shine. "Um… do you want to go to dinner tomorrow? Or, ah, or we can go all around town and do the touristy stuff, I know exactly what we should do, too."

Red was blushing by now and with his free hand, he scratched his cheek lightly. "Anything sounds fun."

White smiled cheerfully at him. "Then sit back and I can plan a fun day for us! I know all of the perfect spots to go and things to do."

Red smiled again. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Just sit back and enjoy the Unovian air, you're the foreigner here after all."

He gave a soft laugh. "If you don't let me help, I will call you Hilda."

She scowled playfully but she smiled. "I… actually don't mind if you call me that." Red rose a brow at her as she turned her head again at him. "I mean, I don't like my name but if you want to call me that, it's fine. It just sounds—I guess it sounds right when you do."

Red smiled a bit, nodding as he looked at her. "All right then. From now on, I will call you Hilda. White doesn't fit you, anyway."

She laughed. "You'd be the first person to tell me that."

Pikachu suddenly grabbed onto my neck, and I huffed as he moved himself to my head to cling to a horn again. He was quiet but I could tell he was eager, watching the two trainers just stare at each other for a few seconds and I frowned slightly, sensing a strange sensation coming off of both of them. This was no ordinary feeling I'd sensed from our trainer before, and even Pikachu looked confused but he was excited nonetheless.

 _"Do they really love each other?"_ I finally asked, trying to place the feeling we were sensing coming off the two.

Pikachu tapped his chin. _"I dunno about love,"_ he admitted. _"They definitely like each other if they want to kiss each other so bad."_ He grinned as I stared at the two humans. _"They really do like each other, Charizard. Trust me on this!"_

I watched them start to get closer to each other, as if they had forgotten that either of us were even here. I was frowning at myself by now. I suppose… it wouldn't be such a bad thing if they did get together. White seemed to genuinely care for my trainer and I finally let out a defeated sigh that made Pikachu begin to smile with victory.

He then turned back to face Red and White as their heads suddenly collided with each other and they both winced, rubbing their foreheads. Whatever just happened, they probably weren't going to go for that kiss anymore and immediately Pikachu looked annoyed. _"Why the hell did they do that?!"_ he exclaimed. _"He was gonna get his first kiss!"_

"Ow!" White exclaimed and they both spun their heads behind us when someone started to suddenly giggle maniacally.

I don't even know how I didn't see them before, but my confusion briefly left me when I saw the very familiar pink cat, holding her sides as she floated in the air behind White and Red while her clone was completely apathetic with a bored look on his face.

Mew and Mewtwo had come to join the party.

 _"Moment totally ruined,"_ Pikachu muttered and for once, I agreed with him.


	12. Legendary Encounters

_Pikachu_

Legendary pokemon hardly interfered with human affairs. Hearing about Reshiram a few weeks ago made me wonder about what role it played and why it would choose to get close to N but even though legendaries hardly ever stepped in to mess with human affairs, there were times and a few that were willing to aid humans.

Bonding with them was entirely unheard of. They were proud pokemon; some of them were damn near immortal and literally controlled various aspects of our everyday lives. Everyone knew about Arceus but most people didn't believe it was real and to be honest, I didn't either. I didn't believe in some all-powerful being that created us one day and then went poof the next.

However, there were a few exceptions. If it were true, Dawn and Giratina—if she lived up to her title she had been introduced as—would likely be one of the first recorded trainers to have caught a legendary pokemon. I didn't know if she kept it or not or if she released them like Red released Mew and Mewtwo, even though they had decided to keep their pokeballs on them.

Then there were the three legendary birds of Kanto we had encountered as well. We hadn't told Blue that Red had gained the trust of Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos on top of Mew and Mewtwo. The three birds all flew off to do their own thing after we released them (I still firmly believe Moltres keeps an eye on us when we're at Mount Silver), but we had never intended on traveling with any of them.

Mew, one of the rarest and elusive pokemon out in the world was practically a bedtime story for children. She had also been caught by Team Rocket and we had the luck to discover her in one of their laboratories, trapped in a strange tube in Celadon City. After our initial shock of _holy crap Mew is actually real,_ we freed her and just like the stories said, she went invisible to get away as fast as possible.

Strange things started to happen around us when we left Celadon City, like a few of Red's pokeballs were misplaced, or some food would go missing. I swore I saw Red's hat disappear one night when the others were asleep.

I would catch glimpses of her during our travels until one day she outright showed herself to us in the morning and greeted us properly. Red hadn't asked for her help, but on multiple occasions, the pink cat was teleporting us to safety and away from the danger that would have put us in our early graves. She claimed that because we helped take down Team Rocket, she would in turn help us. She just laughed at our shocked faces and claimed that she watched Red defeat them in Saffron City and Viridian City then decided to follow us around. Mew hardly ever stayed to chat, but one day she decided to travel with us for a month after we'd defeated Blue at the Indigo Plateau, now claiming she enjoyed our company.

She had also decided that Espeon was her new best friend and the two would run off to get into mischief, causing trouble for the rest of us and headaches for Red. On occasions when we walked or biked to and from cities, I would take my usual perch on Red's right shoulder and Mew would suddenly teleport onto Red's left, startling the human enough to nearly crash and make her hold her sides from laughter, wiping her eyes when she was done. She told us she had never gotten attached to a human before, saying that for some reason Red was different than all the others she'd met.

To me, that sounded almost like Charizard. He hadn't really liked Red or any other human for that matter at first—hell, he still has trust issues but he opened up and didn't want to let him go.

When we learned about Mewtwo hiding out in a cave near Cerulean City, Red was the one who comforted her fears and even though she was stubborn and said she wasn't afraid of 'some human creation,' she seemed relieved that Red and the rest of us were going to at least try to calm him down. She had outright refused to go inside the cave with us and so we went in to find Team Rocket's creation without her.

With a ride from Blastoise, we reached the other side of the cave easily, and standing in the middle of the cavern island was a two-legged creature that was immediately furious that a human came into the cave unannounced.

He attacked us the moment we stepped foot onto the island and Blastoise snatched our trainer and I from the spot that would have been our last. Following that lucky escape, we had an intense battle and I'm not sure how long it lasted but near the end, all of us were so exhausted, we could hardly remain standing. The rest of the team had fainted by then but I was still in front of Red, panting hard as he wiped his forehead. I knew that if I decided to also take a nap, Red would be killed by the overpowered psychic.

Mewtwo's eyes glowed suddenly and I had been thrown far from Red towards the other side of the island we were on. Red had shouted for me and he ran to try and catch me before I hit the ground while Mewtwo looked on with his intense gaze. I knew Red wouldn't have caught me in time anyway, so I simply had closed my eyes and braced for the impact. I was too tired to care anymore.

When no pain came, I was confused and opened my eyes again. Red looked just as startled as me as I was gently lowered into his arms with Psychic and we both turned to Mewtwo when he appeared behind us with Teleport. _"Why did you run after him instead of worrying about yourself?"_ Mewtwo had asked telepathically, looking almost as confused as we were. _"You—a human, who use us pokemon as tools such as they do—would risk your life for one?"_

We both knew who 'they' were. This creation had absolutely no regards for Team Rocket and they had been the only humans he'd been in contact with. I understood why he hated humans so much now but I had no answer for Red and remained silent as he looked at me, relieved that I was all right.

Finally, he looked up at the much taller pokemon, still holding me gently and said, "Pikachu isn't a tool. He isn't a 'thing' that is here for my own use. None of my pokemon are. They are a part of my family and being a part of my family, I would sacrifice myself if I had to."

Mewtwo paused as he took in his words. _"Family…?"_ He had been quiet for a long time as he stared at us and then said, _"I see now that you are not like the other humans. You are different than they are."_ He turned his head and looked towards the shore, staring at something.

We followed his gaze, seeing Mew floating there above the water, a calm look set on her face as she flew towards us. _"I have been following him for a few months now. There are many, many humans are just as wonderful and kind as he is. Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres have all gained his trust as well, you may go see them if you wish to confirm it,"_ she had told him, floating down so that she was sitting on Red's head, much to his annoyance as she smiled. _"Plus, he makes a comfortable seat."_ That much I agreed with and Red rolled his eyes at us.

Mewtwo then around, a deep frown settled on his face. _"More humans would come here. Team Rocket will—"_

 _"Team Rocket is no more,"_ I interrupted. Arceus, I had been tired. I surprised myself that I had managed to say something else. _"They won't come after you again."_

Mew perked up, hovering in front of Mewtwo. _"Red gave me a pokeball,"_ she said, her pokeball coming into her tiny hands from out of nowhere and floated between them. Despite her childish nature and playful attitude, she had her moments of when I had to remember that she was a legendary, sounding far older as she kept speaking with her clone instead of the childish Mew we had been traveling with for the past month.

I still wonder how he is a clone when, you know, he's taller than Red and she's only a little bigger than I am, among a few other things. I decided to stop thinking about it a long time ago.

 _"They keep us safe from any trainer who would try and catch us. It would keep you safe from anyone else. If you accept, will you help me?"_ She smiled at Mewtwo, who was hesitant and remained still. _"I'm on an important mission. I want to help other pokemon—no matter if they have been hurt by humans, in battles, or even by natural causes. I have already helped so many and I really do need help too. Kanto is a very big place. The world is even bigger."_

Mewtwo looked at Red and I as Red shifted me into one arm, reached into his pocket, pulled out an empty ultra-ball and clicked the button so it could go to its normal size. He held it out to Mewtwo and Mewtwo didn't even hesitate to let himself enter it. Once it had shown the capture was complete, Red released him and handed it to him with a smile.

 _"Thank you, Red. You as well, Pikachu. If either of you or any of your... family needs help, I will be there to do what I can,"_ he told us as he took the ultra-ball in his three fingers, though it soon disappeared. Mew nodded, letting us know that she would help as well. Afterwards, she teleported us to Cerulean City's pokemon center, and I noticed it was dark. She had giggled at our shock, then soon explained that it had been two days since we entered the cave. No wonder we were so exhausted.

She waved us good bye and flew up into the sky, where Mewtwo was waiting and they both disappeared shortly after. We hadn't seen either of them since then.

I figured Mew must be busy helping the pokemon she wanted and I didn't mind. At least Mewtwo wasn't a raging psycho-mon anymore.

\---

The crescent moon was high in the cloudless sky, a bright light among the millions of stars that reflected off of the ocean waves with a serene sense of purity. There wasn't another human or pokemon within sight or hearing range and there was a slight breeze to keep us all cool from the late spring night. It was the perfect setting for any romantic scene in a movie, book or even reality.

 _Was_ being the ultimate key word. It was going to be my trainer's very first kiss, aside from his mother of course. Red and White had nearly accomplished the feat and I was eager to be their first witness and brag that even Charizard had been there to Espeon later.

Mew's unfortunate timing was impeccable. As soon as their heads crashed into each other, I knew that delightful and heart-felt moment was gone, leaving Red and White to nurse their poor foreheads when they turned to see who was laughing.

Unlike Mew, Mewtwo was silent and I heard Mew's high-pitched and delighted laughter increase when White screamed in shock at the sight of the two. Red was silent but his face betrayed his own shock that the two of them had suddenly appeared. I got off of the rock and leaped onto the log beside Red as he got to his feet and helped White up as well. Charizard just sighed as Mew's laughter continued to ring in the air.

 _"How in Arceus' name did you two find us?"_ I exclaimed to the two newcomers.

Mew finally composed herself and wiped her eyes, taking a deep breath to catch it. _"I followed my link with Red! I was gonna watch your guys' matches so I decided to come early and Mewtwo followed me!"_

She then flew straight into Red's face head-first and caused him to yelp loudly when she crashed into him. He stumbled back a few steps as she held onto his head in a tight hug with her two front paws and kept her long tail wrapped around his neck, as if to ensure she stayed there. It was obvious she was using telepathy to communicate with the humans as she suddenly shouted, _"I missed you, Red!"_

"Gah!" was the only muffled reply he could get out and at once tried to free his head. She clung to him like a wad of gum on the bottom of a shoe though and kept coming right back in for another suffocating hug every time he managed to pull her away.

 _"You never write, you never call, you never even bother to come see me! I'm saddened by your lack of communication, silly human!"_ I almost forgot how much energy Mew had. How were we supposed to write or call her, anyway?

"Wait, what's going on?" White blurted, clearly in disbelief as she looked between the two psychics.

 _"This is Mew and that is Mewtwo,"_ I told her, pointing to the two. I didn't even bother to ask and see if one of them was translating.

Luckily, one of them was although I didn't know which one it was. "Mew and what?"

I almost slapped myself. Of course she wouldn't know about Mewtwo, he was a complete secret from most of the world. Instead of asking again, she looked shocked and looked at Mewtwo as he turned his dark eyes towards her as Mew continued to cling to Red despite his desperate struggles to get her off his face so he could breathe without inhaling her bubblegum pink fur.

 _"Since Red aided us in Kanto, it is time we return the favor,"_ he told her simply, his own telepathy entering all of our minds.

 _"You flew all the way from Kanto to here?"_ I asked.

 _"No, we skipped across the ocean and then played hide and go seek with a Wailord,"_ Mew interrupted when Red was finally able to tear her off of his face. He held her at arm's length though she didn't seem to be bothered as her tail leisurely swung back and forth. _"Then we stopped in Slateport City for an all-you-can-eat buffet lunch and then helped deliver a baby in Undella Town!"_

Mewtwo, the one with a mature brain in his head, sighed and shook his head. _"Of course not. We teleported here to Red and Mew saw them about to kiss. Clearly, she decided to—in her own words—ruin the moment. One Psychic later and you know the rest."_

I had a feeling Mew had been the culprit. The setting had been so perfect, too! I was sorely upset that the moment had been stolen from us and I could sense White's disappointment next to me as she quietly tried to make heads and tails of what was going on.

 _"But it was funny, huh?"_ Mew said. She squirmed out of Red's hold and sat on her side his shoulders just as she had done years before. _"Oh wow, it's roomier up here now! You're finally growing up!"_

"No, it wasn't really funny at all," White mumbled under her breath.

Red looked between the two legendaries, confused. "What are you two doing here?" he asked.

Mew smiled at us and wrapped her tail around his neck once more. _"I heard your thoughts all the way in Kanto. We were helping some Nidoran get out of a cave-in and then I decided to pry a little bit to see what you were doing because I missed you. I knew you were going to Unova for a tournament, but when I went to look, your thoughts just went blank."_

Red hesitated, his face turning into a frown as White went to his side and I joined them at their feet. Mew then got off of him and floated beside Charizard and Mewtwo, both of the larger pokemon calm as could be.

 _"When we couldn't hear your thoughts anymore, Mew panicked and almost caused another cave-in,"_ Mewtwo added when she went silent.

 _"Did not!"_ Mew exclaimed and her clone ignored her. I could've sworn I saw her cheeks flush a bit with embarrassment. _"Those rocks were falling because they didn't like you!"_

"What do you mean 'thoughts went blank'?" White asked and then looked up at Red expectantly.

 _"When we were attacked by the Shadow Triad, he was knocked out,"_ Charizard answered for us.

She immediately pinched the bridge of her nose. "I can see why Blue and Ethan are constantly worried about you," she muttered though Red gave her a guilty smile.

 _"They told us they want to basically take over the world,"_ I added. _"Make a world based off of their ideals or whatever."_

She hesitated. "This would be the third time they've tried, then. It's really strange, though."

 _"Third times the charm!"_ Mew shouted.

 _"Now isn't the time,"_ I scolded her.

_"What? I thought it was funny."_

_"Your sense of humor is questionable."_

She grinned at me instead of saying anything else.

Mewtwo ignored us two as he stared straight at White and Red. _"What do you mean it's really strange?"_ he asked.

I thought it was interesting that they didn't ask who Team Plasma was. I suppose they already knew; if they could get into Red's mind easily without him knowing or even feeling anything, they could know a whole hell of a lot more.

She looked up at Red as he listened. "They just seem to be working in the shadows instead of being out in the open like they always were is all."

 _"The Shadow Triad visited Giovanni a few times ever since we arrived, too,"_ I said, crossing my paws. _"And then they got mad when he started relaying messages from them to us and said that he was a lost cause or whatever."_

Mewtwo's expression grew considerably darker upon hearing the human's name, no doubt still unforgiving of his creators.

I continued despite his furious face. _"They kept insisting on Team Rocket's help, but he told us he refuses to do anything with them. Before we were attacked by the Shadow Triad, Giovanni told us that they told him to stay away from the stadium on Monday. We think someone or something will attack but we have no idea if that's true or not."_

Charizard glanced at the two as well and added, _"It's obvious they want something from Team Rocket but none of us know what that something is."_

Mew and Mewtwo looked at each other. "Do you two know something?" White dared to ask as Red watched expectantly.

Mew nodded slowly. _"Yes,"_ was all she said.

We were met with silence from the two, the only sounds coming from the area were the ocean waves and the few cries from the forest but that wasn't why I suddenly had a horrible pit in my stomach form. Red had also paled slightly, likely with the same feeling in his gut.

As her face grew serious, that feeling returned, the one that reminded me that she was a legendary pokemon and could probably kill me without even thinking twice about it. I could only think, _Please let me be wrong._

_"Team Rocket announced their return."_

I don't normally swear, let alone use awful words, but the only reasonable reaction I could give her was a slow and quiet, _"…Fuck."_

\---

Mewtwo teleported us to our room the moment Mew had told us about Team Rocket's return, where Red decided it best to try and make a new pit in the floor from his pacing. The news boggled our minds and it seemed as if Red couldn't think straight as switched from one of his nervous habits to another.

He was pacing so much that it annoyed White enough to pull him onto the couch and I noticed her presence seemed to calm him down—only a little bit but it was enough so he could take a few breaths to try and gather his thoughts. Mew was in his lap the moment he'd sat down while I took up residence to his right on top of the arm rest of the couch. Mewtwo was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, though I knew he was not sleeping. Charizard also stuck close to the couch and refused to let Red out of his sight.

White had called everyone including Brendan to ask them to meet us in a few minutes despite it being near midnight and through their confusion and various stages of sleepiness, they agreed to come. "They'll all be here in a few minutes," she said as she clicked her Xtranseiver to hang up from the last call she'd made.

Red nodded wordlessly and scratched Mew's fur on the top of her head and watched her close her eyes in pleasure.

White was silent for a little bit but put her hand on his free hand gently and asked, "Are you okay? You've been even quieter than usual ever since we came back."

He frowned slightly and shook his head once. "No, but I will be." I looked at him with worry but decided to keep silent. I felt a little happy that he admitted that he wasn't fine, but I heard White move a little to lean forward just enough to make him catch the movement and look at her.

She didn't seem to be convinced by his words but didn't seem surprised when he avoided any explanation. Knowing him, he would probably avoid it if he could for as long as he could. "If you ever want to talk, I'm here." She put on a smile, patting his hand gently.

He looked grateful that she hadn't bugged him and nodded again.

She stretched her arms out with a groan and yawn. "While we wait, maybe we can plan a day trip tomorrow and find out what to do." She took one of the pads of paper from the coffee table and pen, setting it on her thigh. "There's a few things that I personally like to do around here and I can take you there if you like."

Mew suddenly looked excited, looking up at the humans but didn't get up from her spot. _"I want to help! I've been all over the world, you know so I know all the best places to go for fun—"_

White shook her head instantly. "No, it's okay, Mew. I got it." She narrowed her eyes at the legendary. "I don't need or want our heads to be bashed together again.

Mew gave a fake pout but snickered, not even trying to hide it.

Red sighed at Mew.

White turned her eyes up to meet Red's. "Now, do you like museums? There's a few that I like here, not as awesome as the one Leonora runs but that one is a little too far for a day trip. Oh, and there's the mine that's nearby, they give tours sometimes. I don't know if they will be doing one tomorrow, with the tournament and all. What about a movie? There's actually one that Diantha starred in recently, I think it's a comedy."

I felt relief when he started to speak again and answered softly, "I like comedy."

"Okay, movie for sure then!"

As she listed more and more things to do around town and they planned out tomorrow's growing list of things they wanted to do, I noticed Red slowly starting to relax even more. The weight of Team Rocket briefly lifted from his shoulders enough for him to smile as White blabbed on about what else they could possibly do in town.

A sudden knock at the door made them both look up and White got up to answer it. Mew and Mewtwo made no move to make themselves invisible when Blue entered. He didn't notice Mew or Mewtwo at first as he glared straight at Red as he shouted at him, "You ditched me! We were supposed to pick up Gramps and you—"

He stopped talking and froze when he caught sight of Mew and her clone. He stared at them silently for the longest time, his mouth opening and then closing itself before looking directly at Red. "Why am I not even surprised?" he finally said.

Mew tilted her head. Then something seemed to click in her mind as she floated up off of Red. _"I know you! You're Red's friend, right? I've heard Red's thoughts about you, you seem to be nice and you're a really strong trainer, too!"_ she said. _"He also thinks that you can be a spoiled brat a lot too. Oh! And super clingy."_

Red rolled his eyes at her.

Blue looked unsure, rubbing the back of his head. "Er… thanks? I guess?"

_"You're welcome!"_

She floated back to Red, deciding to rest on the top of his head this time as Blue looked at White with a confused look, though she shrugged. "Mew's very attached to him, she hasn't let him go for more than like five seconds," she explained but she started to laugh a little, covering her mouth with a hand. "You should have seen her when I first met her—she tackled his face and almost suffocated him."

Red narrowed his eyes at them as Blue laughed heartily, holding his side with an arm. "Aren't you supposed to be the girlfriend?" he asked and White's face turned pink.

"Shut up, Blue!"

I smiled and looked at Red, who was trying to hide his own blush from Blue. Unfortunately for him, Mew had also noticed. _"Aww! You're blushing, Red! Do you blush all the time now? You've grown up so much since I last saw you, too! You're what? Fourteen now?"_

Red scowled up at her, ignoring the giggles he received from the psychic. "Seventeen."

 _"Same thing, you're still a kid."_ She put an arm on her forehead and dramatically draped herself across his lap. _"Young love; thine blade runs deep! O, how I detest thee!"_ She suddenly clutched her chest with both paws. _"No, stray not to the light!"_

 _"What are you even quoting?"_ I asked. _"Shakespeare?"_

She lifted her head to look at me. _"Nope! It's my own work, just wrote it now! You like it?"_

_"Meh."_

As soon the frown returned to Red's face, Blue took notice immediately and went to sit down on the couch beside him, taking White's former spot. "What's the matter?" he asked. I saw White watching from the door as she closed it, looking concerned.

 _"It's kind of a big thing and we'll tell all of you once the other two are here,"_ Mew said then poked Blue's hair, causing the teenager to instinctively pull his head back. _"Why do you have so much hair and why is it so spiky?"_

"Great, not you too," he groaned and White laughed.

_"Red, you should spike your hair too. I think you'd look cute."_

"No," came Red's instant response.

 _"Aww, why not?"_ She took his hat off with Psychic and ignored his annoyed look as she poked his hair. _"Aw, come on, I wanna see what it would look like!"_

All he did was grab his hat to shove it back on his head.

That simple reaction got her to laugh again, delighted with annoying us all. White opened the door again after another knock, revealing Ethan and Brendan, the latter yawning. "Sorry, but this is really important and I think you can help us too, Brendan," White said apologetically and closed the door as the boys came in, both stopping the instant they spotted the psychics as well.

"Whoa!" Brendan said eagerly, his eyes widening. He seemed like a little kid again as his eyes comically widened as he stared at Mew and Mewtwo. "That's Mew! But I don't know what that one is, who's that?" he asked, glancing at Mewtwo.

 _"That is Mewtwo! He's my clone,"_ Mew said cheerfully. She laughed as Brendan and Ethan both jumped when they heard her unexpected voice.

At the sound of his name, Mewtwo finally opened his eyes again, watching the newcomers with mild interest.

Ethan smiled and I rolled my own eyes as he introduced himself, "I'm Ethan, Johto trainer extraordinaire—"

"You're extra something, all right," Blue mumbled and Ethan huffed at him while I laughed alongside Mew.

 _"Humans are funny!"_ she exclaimed, startling Brendan enough for him to jump, which only increased her cackling.

"Ignore her, she's a bit of a trickster," White said and sat on the bed as Brendan and Ethan pulled up chairs. The curious one that she was, Mew floated up to them, trying to give them both styling tips and even tried pulling Brendan's hat off, to which he refused and held it down in place as she tried to use Psychic to pick it up just like she had done to Red's hat. She floated back to Red and I as Blue leaned back in the couch's cushions, getting comfortable.

Black, Rosa and Nate arrived together shortly after Brendan and Ethan did, all three in various stages of awe. After nearly ten minutes of questions about what they were and why they were here, Blue grew impatient as he looked at White and Red.

"I want to go back to bed so I want to find out why you called us for a meeting," he said to White.

"And why it couldn't just be a phone call," Nate added.

Mew's laughter instantly died down and Mewtwo got off the wall. He stopped in front of us, regarding us carefully with his large, obscure eyes. _"This morning, just after the first battle of the champion's tournament, Team Rocket broadcasted a region-wide message in Kanto and Johto that they have returned,"_ he said.

Most notably, Ethan and Blue both froze. Mewtwo noticed their reactions, seeming almost relieved that Ethan and Blue shared a bewildered and startled look similar to the one Red had when we had found out.

Brendan, however, looked confused and looked between everyone. "Team Rocket? Who are they?" he asked. His question, however, went momentarily ignored.

"What do you mean they've returned? They're back? How?" Ethan blurted, all trace of humor gone. It was rare to wipe that all too-happy smile from his face, and I suppose we would need more drastic turns of events to take it off again. "We got rid of them! _Twice!"_

 _"There's a saying for that,"_ Mew interrupted and Ethan glanced at her. _"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"_

 _"I thought we already went over this,"_ I mumbled.

She scoffed at me. _"Don't be a petite propitious poopy-pants, Pikachu—ooh! Try saying_ that _five times fast!"_ She laughed as I groaned. _"Look on the bright side, at least you aren't dead."_

I only rolled my eyes at her as she giggled. _"Oh, joy."_

_"And on top of that, you aren't rotting either."_

Arceus, after spending less than five minutes with her, I wish I was dead as she muttered under her breath extremely quickly, _"Petite propitious poopy-pants, Pikachu. Petite, proptitious poopy-pants, Pikachu…"_

"Who in Hoenn's name is Team Rocket?" Brendan asked, looking frustrated that no one had answered him before. "Are they your run-of-the-mill 'take over the world' kind of people?"

Blue nodded. "Pretty much," he mumbled.

"It's their third time, just like Team Plasma," Ethan piped up.

"And they want to team up with the Rockets," White added, crossing her arms across her chest.

"That's assuming it's the entirety of Team Plasma and not just the Shadow Triad and Ghetsis," Rosa said.

"I'm pretty sure if they talk about Ghetsis and calling him 'lord' or whatever, it's the whole team again," Nate told her with a frown.

"Do you think Colress would help them too?"

Nate shook his head. "He's not even in the region anymore."

"Who's Colress?" I heard Ethan whisper to Black.

"Tell you later," he answered and ignored the Johto native's pout.

Brendan rubbed his head, leaning back in his chair. He seemed nervous and then he sighed when we were all silent for a few seconds. "Dad's gonna _kill_ me." We all turned our attention to him. "He told me to stay out of anything dangerous while we're here after the whole thing in Hoenn," he said and shrugged when he sat back up then smiled at us. "Count me in, even though I don't know who Team Rocket or Team Plasma really are. It sounds like they're loads of trouble and you guys need help getting rid of them."

I was happy that Brendan so willingly decided to help us even if he knew so little about the situation. He had so many similarities with Red that I wondered what Norman would think if he found out what we were discussing with each other.

"We're in, too!" Rosa cried and shot her hand up straight into the air and Nate nodded.

Blue grinned. "Can't say no to kicking Team Rocket's ass."

"I'll beat them a second time _and_ I'll take on Team Plasma, too!" Ethan declared.

White smiled, relieved that we now had so many allies. "Do you two happen to have any more information we could use?" she asked Mew and Mewtwo hopefully.

Mew tapped her chin with a paw. _"Well, not really. When Team Rocket made their announcement, we went to every single one of the places the Rockets have been—in Kanto and Johto."_ She shook her head as she looked at everyone else. _"It was all completely empty: the radio tower, Silph Co., even your gym in Viridian City—except for the gym trainers, of course. It's like they announced it but nothing's happened."_

"Or they're just not in those regions anymore," Black muttered.

"I can think of a region they could be in now," Rosa said and lost her own smile.

"They're here in Unova, aren't they?" Ethan guessed and turned two golden brown eyes towards the two psychics. He looked more annoyed than anything now, but he sighed after Mewtwo gave a nod of his own. "Why now? Why do they have to be so…so _annoying_?"

Annoying was putting it lightly.

 _"I dunno. Why do you have to be so whiny?"_ Mew challenged, grinning as he narrowed his eyes at her with annoyance. She had a point.

I noticed White sit up, hands on her knees. "So, what are we going to do about them?"

"What can we do? Unova's huge and we don't know where Team Plasma _or_ Team Rocket are!" Nate said.

"I know a place," Black said and got up, going to the window. He opened the curtain and motioned towards the dark stadium in the distance. "If the Shadow Triad warned Giovanni to stay away from the stadium on Monday, Team Plasma will be there."

"What about Team Rocket? They do stuff underground, they tend to stay as quiet and do illegal stuff," Ethan said with a frown and turned around on the couch to look at him.

"Unless you blow up buildings," Blue muttered and shot a grin at Red, who glared instead.

I scratched my chin as I stared outside, standing next to the window with Black. If I were Team Rocket and Team Plasma were my best friends, where would I be? Would I be trying to steal pokemon from spectators? Would I try to break into a bank or something? I watched as Black went back to the others, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table and leaned onto it before I stared back at the city and I sighed.

I had no clue where they would go or even what they would do while Team Plasma made threats about the stadium. Were they just distracting us from Team Rocket? I ran a paw through the fur on the top of my head and stopped myself, scowling at my own reflection when I caught myself doing that. All of this was stressing me out, but hearing Mew's giggling made me believe that she wasn't too worried about it.

I glanced back at them. The humans were still trying to figure out what to do and I watched Red come to my side, staring outside with a concentrated frown. He'd been awfully quiet this entire time but he glanced down at me, picking me up into his arms with a deep breath. I knew he was trying to think of where they would be as well but without any clues, they could literally be anywhere in the world.

 _"Well, I think you should stop talking about the boring stuff and go see someone so we can all get some real answers,"_ I heard Mew suddenly say.

Red turned around, surprised when she floated right in front of us. "What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.

She either didn't hear him or didn't care, grinning as she cried, _"Let us be off!"_

I was about to ask what she meant though she only smiled and tapped our foreheads and I heard the others yelp when we were Teleported by her. Red let out a startled noise when he hit the floor on his bottom and he dropped me on accident when we re-appeared in a room that wasn't our own.

I looked up sharply when I heard an angry snarl and Red also jumped. Before I knew it, he grabbed me and rolled out of the way of a Stomp by a furious and large rock-type.

 _"Hey! What gives, Mew? Where are we?"_ I snapped as Red got up to his feet.

She looked at me but grinned as she easily blocked another attack from Rhydon, whatever it might have been. She didn't answer me as she looked towards the startled human at the table and I followed her gaze.

Giovanni looked alarmed to see Mew but he quickly composed himself as he set a glass full of a dark red liquid onto the table and he rose from his seat, hair slicked back and wearing that same suit as always, sans the jacket, which was draped over the back of his chair. My cheeks sparked and I looked at Mew. _"Mew! Why are we here?"_ I shouted at her.

Mew still ignored me as Red kept a protective hold of me and a careful eye on Rhydon. Giovanni narrowed his eyes at us. "I suppose you three heard about that broadcast?" he asked simply.

 _"Yep, the very same! Who did it?"_ Mew demanded, though he frowned in a bit of confusion. _"And don't give us the 'I don't know speech,' that's a little lame."_

"And what if I say that is the truth?"

She crossed her little arms across her chest. _"Then we won't believe you!"_

He snorted and seemed to brush us off with a look towards Rhydon, waving a hand to tell it to stand down and come to his side. "Believe what you want. I had nothing to do with it and have continuously refused to side with Team Plasma."

Red glared. "Then who else would?" he asked.

"I have an idea, if that is what you are wondering." He narrowed his eyes at him. "But why should I tell you?"

I started to growl a little. Wasn't he the one who told us to figure out Team Plasma wanted in the first place?! Was he on their side or not? Were the Shadow Triad just trying to fool us into thinking he really was innocent so he could help them stab us in the back?

Red glared at him as well and he looked ready to start a battle—even if we were in the middle of a fancy hotel room.

Mew grew irritated, sitting on Red's shoulder instead. _"Simple."_ She looked at Giovanni as he rose a brow at her. _"I can grind your brain into teensy-weensy, itty bitty, tiny little chunks and flesh and make it into soup, and you'd be helpless to do anything 'cause you don't have any protection, or—if you prefer—I can break every single one of your bones with just a flick of my tail."_

Red and I both looked at her in disbelief. She was smiling still, ever so calmly and Red looked at me as she giggled. I had no idea that Mew could be cruel like that either.

She floated into the air again, hovering before Red and I. _"So, you tell us what we want to know and you get to keep your brain! Deal?"_

Giovanni started to laugh, though there was no trace of humor in it and a cold chill went deep into my spine, causing me to involuntarily shiver as well as Mew, though Red remained stoic as usual, his eyes glaring deep into the man. When he finally stopped, he lost his smile. "I haven't had a laugh like that in years. You are far too kind of a pokemon to harm anything."

 _"True, I am too nice and can't really hold up to any threats that_ I _make."_ She pointed to something that suddenly appeared behind Giovanni. _"But he isn't."_

Giovanni turned around sharply as Mewtwo Teleported directly behind him. Mewtwo used Psychic to pin the man to the table the moment he arrived, knocking the glass of wine and whatever meal he'd been having onto the floor. Giovanni gave a yell of surprise, wincing as his arms were forced apart to his sides and the psychic glared. "M-Mewtwo!" he said, as if he found it difficult to breathe. "W-we destroyed you!"

Mew giggled, as if she found this whole thing funny. _"Obviously, you didn't do a good enough job."_

 _"You have no idea how long I have suffered because of your kind, human,"_ Mewtwo snapped. His voice held nothing but rage, not caring if Giovanni was choking and trying to breathe.

I didn't even feel sorry for the man and Mew remained where she was, feeling the same. Rhydon roared in fury, trying to hit Mewtwo but Mew kept him at bay and easily knocked him out with a Psychic.

Mewtwo was quiet for a little longer but the three fingers on his arm finally grew apart a little and I heard Giovanni cough when he could breathe again. _"However, it is not Red's wish for you to die even after all the crimes you committed. You will tell us who the ones responsible for this are."_

Red was frowning silently, and I hadn't a clue what was going through his mind. I snapped my head back to the pinned Giovanni, who made a pained sound as he tried sitting up.

 _"Remember: we get to squish your brain if you don't say anything!"_ Mew chimed in a sing-song voice. Her sanity was indeed questionable.

"I don't know who exactly. The only person I can think of is Archer; he's always wanted to bring Team Rocket back from the ashes ever since it was disbanded four years ago," Giovanni said as he winced.

 _"Archer declared he would not bring Team Rocket back,"_ Mewtwo said, glaring. _"Do not lie to me, human!"_

He managed a short laugh but it turned into a cough as the three fingers on Mewtwo's left arm flexed a little, constricting his air once more. "Humans lie. You should know this better than anyone, Mewtwo."

Mewtwo hesitated before he reluctantly lowered his arm slowly as he stared at the pinned man.

The psychic finally let up and Giovanni was able to sit up, rubbing his neck as he glared up at Mewtwo then glanced at Red and I. "Archer most likely lied to Ethan. He wouldn't give up his own dream. They probably still have their feet dug into every little corner of Kanto and Johto, too."

_"Then that would mean you would be a part of that same team, wouldn't it?"_

Giovanni frowned. "I gave up that path a long time ago. I have nothing to do with Team Rocket anymore."

For once, I didn't think the man was lying and Red remained silent, looking at Mew as she hesitated, going back to sit on Red's shoulder.

Giovanni continued, straightening his shirt. "I'm sure he's convinced the other admins to join him as well." Red remained quiet as he looked at Rhydon once he began to wake up. "Now get out of here, I have given what you wanted."

Mewtwo hesitated for a long time before he teleported, unable to bear the sight of Giovanni, I assume.

Mew glanced at the man, staying near Red and I. _"Now we don't have to squish your brain. See? Was that so hard?"_ she asked, smiling again.

Giovanni glared at her but turned his eyes towards Red. "If you want to stop them, I would suggest going to Clay Tunnel—I heard that there is a lot of strange activity going around there. A lot of people wearing a strange uniform with the letter 'R' on the front." Red stiffened and Giovanni picked up the glass that had fallen onto the floor earlier.

"Why should I trust you?" he finally asked and I kept a very close watch on Giovanni as he stood again to set the cup onto the counter beside the sink.

"Have I lied to you yet?"

I frowned. He hadn't and that's what made me nervous as well. But how was he getting this information? He couldn't have gotten it himself, could he?

"Go to the tunnel and from there, I am sure you'll get more answers." He turned around to face us. "Team Plasma is watching you and your friends—they know your mother is here as well. Do not assume that anyone is completely safe within this place."

Red stiffened but before he could say anything, Mew had teleported us out of the room and into a more familiar territory—our own room, which was thankfully empty. We already knew that the Bisharp were watching us all, but with the knowledge and the awareness that they were here in Driftveil watching his family and friends, along with the fact that Giovanni was most likely telling the truth, it hit my trainer hard.

He looked around our room and let out a heavy sigh, rubbed his face with shaky hands and sat on the bed without bothering to turn the lights on.

I barely noticed Mewtwo in the room as well, standing on the other side of the bed, and I'm sure Red knew he was there, but he made no move to greet him as he tried to get rid of his anxiety. I sensed it immediately and I jumped up next to him. I rubbed my head against him to try and calm him but it did little to help ease his fears.

I looked up as Mew flicked the lights on with Psychic then floated over to us, hovering above, an almost guilty look on her face. _"I'm sorry, Red. But what Giovanni said was the truth. There are strange pokemon always following you around and I cannot sense them with psychic abilities."_ She then tried to smile. _"But you have me here now, right? And I won't leave again! If those pokemon try anything to hurt you or your mom, they're going down and so are Team Rocket and Team Plasma! Their tiny brains will by mush by the time I'm through with them!"_

She lost her smile when she realized her attempt at humor was lost on our human, who was a complete mixture of worry and fear. I understood why: his mother was his only family member that any of us knew about and the fact that they knew she was here scared him to the core.

Whereas Mewtwo didn't bother to try and comfort the human, Mew floated to Red and hugged him around his neck—not a tackle-in-the-face or a suffocating death grip but a real, Arceus-forsaken hug that startled the human.

 _"It'll be okay, Red."_ She smiled. _"I promise."_

I smiled up at him as well and jumped up to his shoulder to hug his head as well. After a few silent moments, he nodded and finally hugged us both back. When he let go, he pulled out a pokeball. Mew instantly brightened up, recognizing that it was Espeon's pokeball and the moment she was released, Espeon gave a delighted sound and both tackled into each other in joy, the psychic duo finally reunited after years.

Red released the others shortly after, gladly taking off his shoes as they greeted Mew as well, who was just as happy to see them as well. There was a sudden, rapid knock on the door and Red answered it after a brief glance through the peephole. White entered quickly and quickly threw her arms around him, causing a quick blush to appear on his face but he smiled as he returned the hug. "I was so worried! Mew! Don't kidnap him again!" she instantly scolded.

 _"I wouldn't kidnap him!"_ Mew retorted. _"Well, maybe. I probably will again."_ She stuck her tongue out at her as Espeon giggled.

Red rolled his eyes at the girls then looked at White. "I'm sorry I scared you, Hilda, it will _not_ happen again." He gave Mew a hard look.

_"It will if it's to save your life. What if you get squished or your brain turns to mush? Well, I can't repair that."_

"Huh?" White asked, finally letting Red go.

"Ignore her," he said, sighing again.

Blastoise tilted his head though Espeon was first, tackling into the humans, over excited that not only Mew had returned but also the hug that the humans had given each other. They both yelped and hit the floor just as fast. _"You two are hugging! In front of us!"_ she cried suddenly, smiling just as brightly as the gem on her forehead. _"Did you two kiss? How was it? You didn't use tongues, did you? Are you even old enough to have sex yet—"_

"Nope, we're done, Espeon!" White said, her whole aura screaming embarrassment. "Done!"

Mew suddenly started to laugh one more time as the humans blushed brightly, though Red pushed Espeon off of them.

 _"Nothing happened. Mew bashed their heads together before they could even do anything,"_ I replied and Espeon looked at Mew, looking disappointed.

 _"What? Don't give me that look! It was the perfect time and then—BAM! Foreheads crashed together!"_ Mew said with a smile and wiped her eye. _"It was a sight to behold."_

_"But think of O.G.A.D.!"_

Mew tilted her head curiously. _"What's O.G.A.D.?"_

 _"Oh, Arceus,"_ Venusaur mumbled with exasperation.

The next person who asked us what O.G.A.D. was, I was determined to Thunderbolt them.

White looked at Red as he sighed at us pokemon, though Mew was only laughing as usual. Mewtwo sighed at her, going to awkwardly sit onto the couch and closed his eyes to rest. White then chuckled, interrupting a brief moment of happiness. "We left right after you got teleported and tried to look for you. I came back when I saw the light under your door on." She pulled out her Xtranseiver and began to text. "I'll tell the others that you're fine and it's okay to go back to bed now."

"Thanks," he told her.

She glanced up at him and gave him a small smile. "I guess we can't go on a date tomorrow, can we?" she asked.

"No, but we got useful information from Giovanni tonight," he said and she blinked.

"Is that where Mew took you? What'd he tell you?"

As Red explained to her what happened, although he skipped the part where they knew about his mother and I didn't correct him, I looked at Charizard as he listened intently. Snorlax seemed to be deep in thought as he ate a few berries (where he got them from, I have no idea. I don't even think I want to know) and Blastoise settled on his haunches beside the bed beside Venusaur.

They were all silent after learning that Team Rocket had come back and Venusaur looked at Blastoise nervously, who seemed to be jittery all of a sudden as well but we looked at the humans as White rubbed her head. "Wow. Well, I guess we can go to the tunnel if you want. Do you want to go tonight? The others have probably gone to bed by now, though."

Red looked at Mew as she yawned and it was completely contagious again—every one of us also was hit with a sudden dose of exhaustion. "Tomorrow, after we've all gotten some sleep."

She smiled. "You promise?" When he nodded, she turned to the door and glanced over her shoulder as she opened the door. "Good night, Red."

He returned the smile. "Good night, Hilda." She gave a soft laugh as she left, closing the door gently behind her.

It was silent before Espeon jumped onto him again, sending them to the floor one more time. _"Why didn't you walk her to her room? Or kiss her? What kind of man are you?"_

 _"You monster!"_ I heard Mew shout from the side.

Red rolled his eyes as he pushed her off again and stood up and began to get ready for bed.

When he settled into the sheets, I yawned and jumped onto the bed then curled up next to his side. I felt a couple more weights appear on the bed and I saw Mew laying down around his neck and Espeon was at his other side. I heard Blastoise settling into his shell next to the bed as Venusaur did his nightly stretches before laying down. Snorlax had squeezed himself into the room and sat up against a corner on the other side of the room, already going to sleep while Charizard had moved in front of the door as a living barrier to keep an eye on the living room for us.

I looked up at our trainer's face when I heard his breathing deepen as he fell asleep in a matter of seconds—nearly as fast as Snorlax could if he was tired enough. It's a talent I wish I had.

I blinked sleepily as Mew remained awake and when she noticed, she quietly said to me while the curtains mysteriously closed themselves, _"What were the strange pokemon that we saw on the way here? The ones that were watching you?"_

 _"They're called Bisharp, they're the Shadow Triad's pokemon,"_ I said. _"They are dangerous."_

Mew let out a quiet and weary noise. _"I think I should squish their brains."_

I rolled my eyes at her. _"They're dark-types, you can't squish their brains."_

_"No excuses! Just a few moves and then I'll have their brains in my grasp."_

_"Go to sleep, Mew,"_ I heard Venusaur scold.

_"I'm still gonna squish their brains if they try anything."_

I finally closed my eyes again when she quieted down. The only thing that comforted me enough to even relax and eventually fall asleep was the fact that Mewtwo was still awake and would likely stay that way all night, keeping watch.

With those two around, we had nothing to fear.


	13. Investigations

_Espeon_

When I was a little Eevee about two months after joining the team, I was asked by Pikachu how old I was. Needless to say, I slapped him with a paw and heard Red snickering from behind us at our interaction and quickly hid it when Pikachu glared at him. Pikachu told me that I was the youngest, but even after arguing with him about it since I believed he was younger than me, I learned that Venusaur was the oldest of us all, then it went Blastoise, Snorlax, and Charizard. I finally admitted when my birthday was and Pikachu was ecstatic and answered that he was older than me, if only by three days.

After a little teasing from the excited electric mouse, I decided I would train even harder than he would so I would prove that I wasn't too young to beat him in a battle. He just told me that I had a long way to go. I began training on my own, waiting until Red was asleep at night and huddled in Snorlax's fur for warmth and I would wander off so I wouldn't make too much noise.

It was perhaps a month later or so when I began to get snappy with the boys and it only got worse as time went on. I tried to tone it down after being scolded by Snorlax of all pokemon though my efforts were in vain as every little thing made me irritable, especially if it was caused by Pikachu. One night, he caught me wandering off and followed me. When he caught up, he told me that if I could beat him in a battle then he would let me keep doing what I was doing since and in his sarcastic tone added that it was obviously working so well. He decided to mention how snappy I'd become and told me if he beat me, I would have to sleep at night just like the rest of them.

I didn't even hesitate to agree; I could beat this little mouse any day!

I regretted the decision not even three seconds in our battle.

I tried using a Quick Attack against him and he easily dodged it with his own Quick Attack but he didn't aim to hit me. I tried again and he dodged one more time. After a few more times of this, I snapped at him to fight back and to my complete and utter shock he told me, _"I'm worried about you. Why are you training in the middle of the night?"_

He seemed so sincere and that odd look of pity on his face made me angry. I didn't need his pity—I didn't need him to look down on me! Immediately furious, I ran up to him and used Bite against him, glad I'd finally landed a hit. He didn't make a move to dodge, but he did wince and tried to pull his arm out of my jaws. I let go and responded, _"I'm going to prove to you that I'm not weak! I'm going to show you all that I'm strong!"_

He was quiet before he started laughing and successfully confused me. Why in the world was he laughing? I growled at him, irritated and demanded to know why he was laughing at me. _"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at how stupid you can be!"_

I hissed loudly, my ears flat on my head. _"Say that again, pipsqueak!"_

 _"Okay. I'm laughing how stupid you can be."_ He sat down, nursing his arm and ignored my hissing as he looked at me straight in the eyes. _"When did I ever say you were weak? To be honest, you're strong, Eevee. You may be the youngest, but that doesn't mean you are weak. But if you keep training at night like this then you'll just get worse."_ He rubbed his arm where the bite had landed again. _"You wake up tired and you can barely keep up with the rest of us during training with Red. We're all just worried about you, that's all."_

I finally stopped my growling and eventually sat beside him, staring at the ground. We were silent for a while before I mumbled, _"I'm sorry. About everything."_ I really did feel apologetic because I knew how much stress I was throwing at the boys because of my behavior. Venusaur especially didn't like being stressed out so much, always complained that it wilted the petals on his back if he was too anxious.

He shrugged. _"It's okay. We also got tired of you being all pissy at every little thing. You'll get stronger if you stop this night training."_ He smiled at me. _"Besides, it's more fun with others! You know that Red trains us for as long as we need to and I know you haven't been with us for a long time but he will find out what your weak points are and help you overcome them. Trust me on that."_

After that, I stopped training by myself at night. The boys were grateful for that; I got more sleep and was happier then after I evolved, Red helped me learn how to use my new psychic moves and eventually had me training with Snorlax. Two weeks before the championship match, he told me to pick him up.

Astounded, even Snorlax tried telling the human that he was simply too big for anyone to lift but Red just said that he believed in me and turned to Snorlax and told him that every time I failed, he could have a whole basket full of his favorite berries. Snorlax stopped to think about it and agreed with a smile. I gaped at them. That would just make it harder!

I tried using Psychic to pick him up and of course I failed the first few times, panting when I realized it was just simply impossible to do! With Red feeding him more berries, I was sure he was just getting heavier and heavier by the day.

Two days before leaving for Victory Road, I was frustrated enough to tackle into Red and even hissed at him in anger for the first time and the others stopped their own training to stare. After shouting at our trainer that what he was asking of me was impossible, I heard Charizard begin to growl but Red simply smiled.

He sat up, patted my head and told me to pick Pikachu up. I stopped hissing and frustratingly looked at Pikachu, easily lifting him despite his squeaking. Then he told me to lift Charizard and I was shocked. It was normally incredibly difficult to do so but when I gently set the flying-type down, my eyes were wide when I realized how easy it was. Eventually I managed to lift even Blastoise and Venusaur, who were both startled and when I set them down, my anger had ebbed away completely and I finally knew why Red had been training me with Snorlax.

Pikachu began laughing at me again and fell down holding his sides and I didn't have the heart to tell him to be quiet or even glare at him. He was laughing at how stupid I could be. Red knew I wouldn't be able to pick Snorlax up within a few weeks, but his odd request was to increase my psychic power—and it worked.

He was allowing Snorlax to eat more than usual to keep increasing the weight just enough to force me to increase my efforts and strengthen my mental abilities—then I learned he was secretly training him when we were all in our pokeballs to increase his physical strength, thereby building muscle underneath that flab and making him even heavier. I realized he had already pinpointed a weak point, determined the best course of action and was trying to help me overcome it.

Now even more determined and on the day before the Elite Four, we were training in Victory Road though after a few hours, I gritted my teeth together and stared at Snorlax as he ate his fiftieth berry of the day. I squeezed my eyes shut in effort and by the time I heard Snorlax make a questioning sound and Blastoise let out a startled noise, I opened them again and saw Red smiling when Snorlax floated just above the ground a few inches.

Clearly, I was overjoyed and my concentration was broken almost instantly; Snorlax just complained about the rough landing as I tackled into Red again but this time, I was licking his face and it caused him to laugh and try to shove me off.

I may be the youngest of the team, but I am certainly not weak. I was just the last to find out.

\---

Mew has always been an excited, laughable little pokemon even during a dark and dreary day. She usually managed to bring a smile to nearly everyone's faces, whether it be human or pokemon and always tried to keep a happy façade on. There were times when she would be upset and would come to us for comfort and then there were other, rarer times when she would act like a true legendary and scare the hell out of us.

Most of the time she would be a delight to be with and as a psychic-type myself, we got along quite well. The boys were usually nervous when we were together alone and for good reason. I suppose it was because we both enjoyed playing pranks against people or plotting fun things to do that they deemed irresponsible, crude, rambunctious or something along those lines. They just didn't know how to have fun.

The two of us would be up late some nights just talking to each other and those were the times when I usually saw her happy façade fade and her true self would appear just like this morning as she and I both woke up before the sun rose.

She told me that while Mewtwo was a great partner in helping her quest to help all the pokemon she could in Kanto and eventually the world, it felt a little lonely, that it wasn't the same when she had been traveling with us.

I knew where she was coming from and smiled and glanced toward the others in the bedroom. While the boys annoyed me at times and argued with each other a lot, I couldn't imagine _not_ traveling with them.

She sighed as she leaned against the balcony railings. _"I missed you guys,"_ she admitted as the sky began to turn different shades of color.

 _"We missed you as well,"_ I answered.

We sat in comfortable silence as the sun began to peak over the horizon, lighting up the stadium in the distance and sky above. Mew's tail swung side to side as she asked, _"So, does he actually like that other human?"_

It took me a moment to figure out that she was talking about Red and I chuckled as I nodded. _"If by 'like' you mean he has a crush, then yes. We've hung out a lot with her over the last month, she's very nice. Short temper and she's a horrible cook, but she loves her pokemon and her friends. I think Red is better cook than she is."_

Mew laughed. _"He wasn't that good last I checked."_

_"He's gotten better, he just needs to learn. White, on the other hand, burns anything she touches just like Black told us."_

Far below us on the ground, something caught my eye. My ears flicked forward and Mew followed my gaze. Both of us watched as Ethan sprinted with Typhlosion beside him while Rosa and Brendan chased after them. I heard their distinct voices echo up into the air and although I couldn't decipher the words, I could tell they were all arguing.

Instead of doing anything to stop them, we simply watched them run and disappear into the city. After they were gone and all was quiet, Mew asked incredulously, _"They aren't doing what I think they're doing, are they?"_

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, exasperated. _"I think they are,"_ I answered and got up onto my paws. So much for investigating with Hilda. _"I'll go wake up Red and let him know they went off alone to the tunnel."_

Mew flicked her tail again, uneasy but followed me inside, closing the door behind us.

I jumped onto the bed once I was close enough and sighed. Red needed the sleep and I second guessed myself. Should I really wake him up because of something Ethan, Brendan and Rosa were doing? After all, they were also champions and they were strong. I decided to keep going and tapped his head with a paw. _"Red, wake up. Red. Red. Red."_ Each time I said his name, I would tap his face a little more.

I heard Pikachu groan but ignored him as Red finally opened his eyes as my paw pressed against his cheek a fifth time. He took in a long breath before he croaked quietly, "What?"

I found it difficult not to find him adorable when he was practically asleep and I tried to hide my smile. He sounded just like an annoyed parent and I was the child waking him up. _"Ethan, Rosa and Brendan are going to the tunnel without you."_

It took a second time for me to say it for him to fully comprehend and in his sleep addled state, he quickly sat up and Pikachu let out a tiny yelp when he was unceremoniously tossed to the other side of the bed on accident. The others woke up to the noise as Red shot out of bed and quickly went to get his clothes on.

 _"What do you mean they went to the tunnel without us?"_ Venusaur asked, a hint of worry in his tone.

_"Just like I said. We saw them running from the hotel towards the tunnel."_

Snorlax eyed Red as he threw on his vest. _"Seems like you're not the only one who likes to play hero,"_ he teased, ignoring a glare from our trainer.

We all glanced at Mew as Red tried to shove his pants on without falling to the floor and she said, _"Mewtwo won't come with us, but I will. He's got something more important to do."_

 _"What's more important than investigating Team Rocket?"_ I asked honestly.

She shrugged. _"I don't know."_

I noticed how she looked away purposefully towards Red as he recalled the others. Yes, she knew exactly wat Mewtwo needed to do—she looked away whenever she was lying, a habit she had been unable to break. She didn't want to tell us and figuring it had to deal with legendary stuff, so I let it slide.

Mewtwo nodded at us and he teleported as Mew turned invisible, taking her place on Red's shoulder as Pikachu and I ran ahead towards the elevator. The elevator ride seemed to drag on and as soon as we were inside and I saw him hit the first-floor button, I glanced up at him. _"Don't you want to bring Hilda with us?"_ I asked him.

 _I don't want to wake her up. It's still very early,_ his thoughts answered.

Pikachu and I shared a look. _"But you and her were going to go together today,"_ Pikachu said to him.

_I'll make it up to her._

Pikachu sighed at him. _"If you say so."_

Mew let out a giggle and I saw a spot on Red's cheek move as she patted it. _"Don't worry! You guys have me!"_

 _"That makes me even more worried,"_ Pikachu scolded.

_"You're still a poopy pants."_

_"Why are you still using that insult? How childish are you?"_

_"False, I am no child."_ She paused to let Pikachu's confusion settle as the doors dinged, letting us know we had arrived to our destination. _"Poopy pants."_

He let out a loud and annoyed groan. _"Arceus damn it…"_

I chuckled at their argument as the elevator doors opened. Those two never ceased to banter no matter what. We ran out of the elevator and I could see that no one else was awake this early and even the staff in the cafeteria were still yawning.

I ran forward as soon as we were outside to lead the way. The city was still quiet and while the early birds of the world were just starting to wake up, the streets were pretty empty, with only the occasional human taking an early morning jog. I figured it was this empty because it was a weekend and most people were sleeping in before they worked the next day or in other cases, before the champion's tournament began.

We crossed a few streets until we finally reached the tunnel entrance and each of us stopped to catch our breath. Red looked up at the tunnel and I saw that the temporary barricade had been moved aside just enough for a small human to get through. He glanced down at me as Pikachu sniffed the air and I nodded. I could sense Ethan's presence close to us. Closer than I thought, really—

"Oh, hi, Red!"

We all looked in surprise at the barricade as Ethan jumped through the entrance they had made for themselves, followed by Rosa and Brendan. Ethan grinned as he stopped in front of us. "I decided to come because I wanted you to see my amazing detective skills," he bragged.

Red rose a brow.

"Okay, maybe they aren't the best but you have to admit that I'm good at deducing stuff that I do find!"

"But we didn't find anything," Rosa said, confused.

Ethan's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Not yet! Maybe they're somewhere else in town, but not here!"

Brendan finally came out of the tunnel to join us with a black and gray pokemon trotting beside him. "Mightyena didn't pick anything up either," he said and glanced down at his pokemon.

Mightyena's ears flicked. _"Can you tell him that I did smell old scents?"_ she asked. I was impressed that a dark-type was so polite, usually they were so rude. _"Whoever was there did something but they left a long time ago."_

I happily obliged and Rosa rubbed her chin in thought. "There's only a few places nearby people like Team Rocket could hide then, and if they aren't here, I don't know where else they could be. Maybe they found what they wanted?"

"Let's hope not," Ethan mumbled and Red nodded in agreement.

"I'll be on the lookout for anything suspicious, then. I'll tell my dad too, he's got a good eye for things like that," Brendan added.

Red looked to the tunnel as Rosa moved to the barricade to put it back to normal and I stopped her, using Psychic to keep the barricade in place. She was startled and looked towards us. "Uh, do you guys want to go look for yourselves?" she asked.

Red nodded.

"Knock yourself out, then, there's just a bunch of wild pokemon, dirt and dead ends," Ethan said and shrugged.

 _"Wake us up next time you want to do an early morning adventure,"_ I told him.

"I just happened to be awake super early and got bored," he objected. I didn't need to squint to see his eyebags. He hadn't slept at all, but I let him keep his pride as he walked away back towards town, hiding his yawn.

Red rose a brow at Rosa and Brendan, silently asking if they were leaving too.

Thankfully they understood and Rosa smiled. "Nate and I have plans already with Serena in about an hour. She's really nice, I think you would get along with her as well," she said to Brendan and took his arm to drag him away.

"I'm an introvert, I don't do social stuff!" the young man objected but went along with her as well, Mightyena chuckling as she followed them. I wondered what they were doing so early in the morning if they made plans but I couldn't help but feel relieved that we were alone so we could do our own investigation.

Pikachu walked ahead and had no issues walking right underneath the barrier. _"I don't think they searched very well,"_ he admitted to me and glanced back at me. _"I just have a feeling."_

I smiled. _"I'm glad I'm not the only one then,"_ I answered. It was a very real possibility that nothing was here and whatever Team Rocket had set out to do here they had completed. For some reason, I felt like there was something here we could use. Why else would Giovanni mention the tunnel to us? That man knew more than he let on and for that I was worried, but I would ask more questions later.

As we walked into the tunnel, I took a deep breath and looked around. The area was thankfully well-lit and quiet and the cavern pokemon that resided there were mostly asleep and ignored us as we walked by. As much as Red seemed to want to stop and scan all of the new pokemon with his pokedex, he kept the job in his mind as we kept going deeper into the winding tunnel.

Mew felt comfortable to show herself again and as we reached a larger room full of rocks and many different ways to go, she scratched her head. _"Why are caves so big?"_ she asked us.

"Can you sense anything?" Red asked, ignoring her question as he stared down at old rail tracks that were seemingly abandoned.

She shook her head. _"Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least."_

 _"Mightyena said she smelled other scents, so there has to be something here,"_ Pikachu told us. He jumped on top of an old minecart to be closer to Red's level. _"And if Giovanni told us to come here and look around, then Team Rocket had to have been here."_

I nodded and glanced up at Red, seeing him deep in thought. _"Pikachu is right. There has to be a reason for this."_

He glanced down at me and then sighed. "Let's just keep looking then—" He stopped talking when we heard footsteps echoing through a tunnel.

 _"Hide!"_ Mew exclaimed and turned invisible. I didn't need to be told twice. Pikachu jumped into the minecart almost immediately and Red quickly joined him, lifting me up and held me in his lap as he sat down so we could all fit inside.

It was a painfully long time before we heard the footsteps get closer. I wasn't sure how many there were, but I could tell there were at least two people. We were all silent and I heard one voice say, "My back hurts, dude."

"You're telling me. I can't feel my legs. Arceus, and they want us to set everything back up again? My arms are going to fall off if I pull another twelve-hour shift," the other person responded.

I peered over the top of the minecart. There were two men heading out of a tunnel close to us and I had to stop myself from snarling when I saw the black shirt and a red "R" embedded into them, large and in full display. We already had enough problems from that group and now they were here in Unova at a most inopportune time.

I quickly ducked back down, giving a small nod to Pikachu and Red to silently confirm that they were Rocket grunts. Red's eyes narrowed and Pikachu couldn't help a tiny growl to escape his throat but he quieted down quickly when the two grunts kept talking.

"You think we're gonna get a bonus for moving all this crap around?"

"Hah! You crazy? We're just grunts, we don't get no bonuses!"

"I was just asking! Don't get your panties in a bunch." They walked past us, not even stopping to look at the minecart. I felt Red release a breath he'd been holding and I realized I had been holding mine as well, gratefully taking a breath. "Then how do we get promoted?"

"If you were there during Team Rocket's prime, oh man, it was so easy. I got so many stories to tell you."

Their voices started to echo as they made their way out of the cave and we slowly got out of the minecart as soon as we knew we were alone. Red brushed the dirt off of his pants and glanced in the direction the two grunts had walked out of.

How Ethan, Rosa and Brendan missed them went beyond me but I finally let out that hiss I'd been holding back. _"What are they even doing here?"_ Pikachu asked, his fur bristled up in his own anger.

 _"Dunno, but that's what we're going to find out,"_ Mew answered, showing herself once more and flew after Red as he walked in the direction they had come from.

We traveled deep into the tunnel and came to a dead end. I scowled as I looked around the rocky walls. This couldn't have been it, could it? But I saw them walk out of this specific tunnel, there has to be something we missed! I watched as Red put a hand against the wall in front of us and look around.

As he ran his hands against the wall, Pikachu tapped the ground with his back paw in thought and scratched his head. _"You're sure they came from here and not another tunnel?"_ he asked after a few moments of silence.

 _"I'm positive,"_ I told him.

He jumped when Red flipped a rock up to reveal a button and I stared at him as he pressed it. The wall next to us suddenly let out a small hiss and opened up, revealing a large cavern. He glanced down at us when we all stared at him, wondering how in the world he knew about this. "It's Team Rocket," he dead-panned, as if he had heard our thoughts.

He was right. They had hidden a secret base in a casino with a button behind a poster as an entrance.

Pikachu let out a soft laugh. _"Arceus, we're stupid,"_ he mumbled.

 _"Yeah, you are,"_ I said and grinned as he huffed in objection.

We wandered in and I watched as the door closed behind us. I glanced up at Red as he looked back and found a light switch. As soon as the lights were on, I gaped at the room cavern. It was mostly empty but it was huge, the ceiling itself seemed endless and I knew Charizard would have no issues flying around comfortably. I saw that the room was also closed off, leaving the only way in or out through the door behind us so we were able to scatter around the room in search of anything we could use.

The dusty ground had marks of large things being pushed around, and I knew whatever Team Rocket had been doing they already finished the job, otherwise they wouldn't have cleaned the area out, save for the scattered parts stacked against a wall in the back next to a few thick stalagmites. I flicked my tail in irritation. Since when did Team Rocket get so good at hiding themselves?

Pikachu jumped up onto Red's shoulder as he stared at the wall he was facing. _"What is this?"_ he asked softly, mostly to himself.

I looked over my shoulder to see what they were staring at but my back paw brushed up against something metal and made me look down. I moved my paw and saw that I had almost stepped on a small remote that had one red button on the top and a smaller yellow one on its side. I looked up and caught Red's attention. _"I found something!"_

Red quickly abandoned the wall he was staring at and went to my side, picking up the remote with confusion. He blew the dust off and coughed when it went into his face instead. _"Hah! You deserve that,"_ Mew teased. She giggled when he rolled his eyes at her.

As soon as he picked it up, he glanced at the leftover metal that was stacked against the wall. We went to the pile and didn't even need to dig through it to see that most of it was just junk that hadn't been removed yet. Red let out a sigh, the noise causing Pikachu and I to look at him with curiosity. "What?"

 _"What's wrong?"_ Pikachu asked.

He glanced back at the pile of metal again. "More questions," he complained.

 _"Yeah, I have more, too,"_ I said.

We all flinched when there was a loud hissing noise from the door. _Shit,_ I heard Red's thought without meaning to. He quickly ducked behind the stalagmites and us pokemon followed right after.

"…lights on? Are you two amateurs?" a female voice was saying.

"Okay, that's weird because we really did turn them off!" another voice responded.

"Yeah, we didn't forget this time!" a third voice added.

I frowned to myself. The last two I recognized as the grunts from earlier, but the woman I hadn't a clue.

"Yet you 'forget' about the metal that's piled up and the damn barricade that's left wide open!" I dared to peek from around the stalagmite I was hiding behind. The woman seemed tall, especially with her heels on and she was motioning dramatically towards the metal pile near us. "What if someone finds this, huh? What's going to happen?"

The two grunts shared a nervous look. "We'll get fired?" the older one suggested.

The red-haired woman let out a cold laugh. "You'll be more than just fired." She lost her smile as she checked the watch on her wrist. "And I'm late to a meeting with Archer because of your stupidity."

"We're sorry, ma'am!"

The woman let out an irritated sigh and ordered them, "It's too late in the day to finish clean-up. Have it done by tomorrow. I don't want excuses."

"Y-yes ma'am!" they both chorused and fled the cavern to avoid her wrath.

The woman tsked behind her teeth and mumbled under her breath, "Idiots." She then paused to looked down at the ground. I wanted to curse. She had good observational skills if she saw the marks we had left behind while investigating. I watched her frown and I ducked behind again as she scanned the back wall but not seeing us or anything else, she turned around, flipped the lights off and left.

When the door hissed shut, Pikachu let out a groan. _"Who the hell was that?"_ he asked as he used Flash to light the area.

 _"I don't know but I don't like her,"_ Mew answered and shuddered.

I couldn't agree more. She didn't seem like the best boss and made me almost worry for the two grunts safety. Almost.

"Let's just get out of here," Red said and we couldn't agree more.

We waited for a few more minutes in the dark cavern until we deemed it safe enough to leave, even if it was with more questions than answers.

\---

We returned to the hotel room after lunch was long over with and we hadn't even finished our meals when I started to tell Snorlax, Blastoise, Venusaur and Charizard what we had found in the cave and showed them the remote I had found.

Snorlax took it between two of his claws, peering at it through permanently squinted eyelids. _"It's not a television or computer monitor remote,"_ he said. _"It looks like it definitely turns something on and off, though."_

Pikachu rolled onto his back on the couch, his empty bowl beside him and stomach protruding a little to show he was full. _"That's what remotes generally do, yes,"_ he answered and waved his paw in the air dismissively.

 _"Don't be snarky, he's just thinking out loud,"_ Venusaur scolded.

_"I'm not being snarky."_

_"You're the literal embodiment of snarky,"_ Blastoise said.

_"You're just jealous of my amazing personality."_

Even Charizard rolled his eyes at Pikachu.

 _"Anyway, it feels like the buttons are locked so if that's the case, I wouldn't try forcing them down,"_ Snorlax interrupted.

Red came out of the restroom after getting the dirt and dust off and tossed the towel haphazardly onto the counter. Mew immediately went to him and attached herself to the top of his head, even though his hair was still wet from his shower. _"Snorlax says the remote is a remote that doesn't work with computer monitors or televisions but it turns something on and off,"_ she told him.

Red blinked and I sensed his confusion. "That's what remotes do," he clarified.

 _"That's what I said!"_ Pikachu exclaimed and sat up quickly from his food-induced stupor.

I sighed at them both. Like trainer, like starter, I suppose.

 _"Yeah, but he wasn't snarky about it,"_ Blastoise said.

_"Can you not?"_

Our human just grew even more confused at us and turned to the door when there was a loud knock. When I sensed White, I gave him a nod to let him know it was safe to answer it and couldn't help a grin from forming. This is what he gets for not listening to us and not bringing her along.

"You and Black always pull the same shit!" she accused the moment she was inside the room.

 _"Ooh, she swore!"_ Mew said to me and sat next to me. _"I need popcorn."_

 _"Get me some too,"_ I said.

 _"Neither of you don't need popcorn,"_ Venusaur told us.

The door closed and Red winced as White jabbed a finger into his chest. "You both run off to play hero! I'm always invited but you both never wait for me!"

"I wasn't playing—" he tried to say but he was interrupted.

"I had to learn from _Ethan_ of all people that you guys already went! Even Rosa went along!"

"I didn't technically go with them." It was true, we just chased them down.

White didn't like that answer and crossed her arms across her chest. "'Technically'?"

The tone of her voice told me her temper was ready to strike again but I didn't feel sorry for Red. I mean, we did tell him to bring her with us and he decided to let her sleep instead. Red even glanced at me for help but I just shrugged and said to him, _"You put yourself into this mess, get yourself out."_

_Traitor._

I snickered when I heard him, but he couldn't tell me that I didn't tell him to bring her with us.

"It was still really early and I wanted to let you sleep."

"You wanted to let me sleep." It wasn't a question and I wrapped my tail around my paws as we all listened. He just kept digging himself deeper into the hole he made, wasn't he?

He looked guilty immediately, his face flushing slightly.

"That's the lamest excuse, you know."

"Sorry."

I wanted to laugh but seeing him look like a kicked growlithe made me forget anything I could possibly be mad at, too.

White took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she unfolded her arms. "I can't stay mad at you when you look like that."

He mumbled another apology.

"Just remember to keep your promises and bring me along too, okay?" She smiled at him, and I could tell she wasn't mad at him. Maybe she hadn't been mad at all, maybe she was just worried about him.

Red returned the smile and then went to the table, motioning for her to follow him. "Espeon found this when we were there."

She stopped beside the table and picked it up. "What does it do?"

 _"It turns things on and off!"_ Mew and I chimed in loudly and simultaneously, startling both of the humans. We looked at each other and started to laugh, rolling onto our backs and holding our sides.

 _"Guys, stop it,"_ Pikachu begged over our cackling.

"We don't know," Red said over us as if we hadn't said anything.

White turned the remote around in her hands. "There's no logo, no serial number. I wouldn't try pressing these buttons if I were you."

Snorlax smirked and looked at Pikachu. _"That's what I said,"_ he said.

Pikachu didn't waste a breath and snapped over his chuckle, _"Stop it. I'm begging you."_

White set the remote onto the table and then leaned against the counter. "You owe me for going without me, by the way," she accused.

Red watched her and smiled a little. "Dinner?" he suggested.

"Better be your treat."

He nodded.

"Then we have a deal." She got up off the counter and headed for the door, glancing back when Red didn't follow immediately. "Well, we going or what?"

"You want to go now?"

She looked away, embarrassed. "I'm hungry."

He let out a quiet chuckle, then recalled Snorlax, Venusaur, Blastoise and Charizard. When he grabbed my pokeball, I scowled at him and said, _"I'm going to stay out. Pikachu doesn't get to hog all the fun."_

Pikachu rolled his eyes at me.

 _"I'll hold down the fort!"_ Mew cried, flying into the bedroom.

We watched her immediately begin to jump on the bed and Red sighed. "Don't break anything," he instructed and followed White out of the room.

As we exited the hotel and White suggested a place to go, Pikachu walked beside me. We both watched the two humans interact quietly. We turned a corner as White animatedly talked to Red, the latter listening with his full and undivided attention. I was happy that his guilt had completely ebbed away by the time we entered Striaton Delights.

Cilan wasn't there, but the waiter introduced himself as one of the second gym leaders, Cress. He took us to a more secluded spot towards the back of the restaurant to give us some privacy and hand the two humans menus. "I'll come by when you're ready," he told us and left us alone with a large button to call him.

White thanked him and when we were alone, she looked at Red. "You wanna make a bet?" she asked.

He looked up at her from the menu. "A bet?"

"Who do you think will win the matches tomorrow? I know Black's going to win his match. I heard Diantha's really good, though, so I don't think Blue's going to make it past the first round."

"I believe in Blue. He's no pushover."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But I've seen Diantha battle on T.V. before, and her gardevoir is powerful." She held up a fist and rose a finger. "First round will go to Nate." She rose a second finger. "The second round will go to Diantha and the last one Black will win."

Red smirked. "Then I think it'll be Dawn, Blue and Brendan."

 _"Why are they betting on who will win their matches tomorrow?"_ Pikachu asked, confused and looked at me.

I shrugged. _"Who knows. Humans are weird."_

"What do you want to bet on?" White leaned back in her seat as she pressed the button, ready for Cress to take their orders. "I think another meal would suffice for me."

He quirked a brow and leaned forward, setting his elbow onto the table and propped his head up. "You can think of something better than that."

"Fine, then you think of something to bet on."

"You're the one who wanted to place a bet in the first place."

"And you're the one who left me at the hotel this morning."

"I'm taking you out for dinner right now."

"I'll consider it partial payment."

Cress had arrived and was looking between the two of them and confused. "Ah, am I interrupting anything?" he asked timidly.

White smiled and looked up at him. "Nope. We're ready!"

Pikachu and I were also looking back and forth between the two teenagers. _"What just happened?"_ Pikachu asked as White put in the orders for Red and herself.

I beamed and looked at him as I replied, _"They were bickering. I'll take it as a sign that they're meant for each other."_

_"You are way into this whole O.G.A.D. thing."_

Maybe he was right, but I knew he was just as into it as I was. If Red was happy, so were we.

\---

The sun started to set when we made our way back and as we waited for the elevator to bring us up to our floors, I noticed White staring at Red when she thought he wasn't looking. He hadn't caught her yet but she had been doing that the entire night. As the elevator arrived and we stepped inside, she pressed the button for her floor and took a breath.

"If we win our matches and move onto the next round and have to battle each other, it won't change anything, will it?" she asked and looked up at him.

"You've already asked me that before," Red answered calmly.

She huffed, crossing her arms. "I just need reassurance, then."

He shook his head. "Nothing will change."

"Okay. Okay, good."

I tilted my head as I watched them. Why was she so nervous?

Once we reached her floor, she stepped out and turned to face us. "Just so you know, if we do battle, I will beat you."

Red rose a brow and gave her a look similar to the ones he would give to people who challenged us. It was that trainer's look that made even Silver nervous when we first met him.

"You trying to look like Black won't work on me!" she said and smiled as the doors started to close. "Good night! I'll see you tomorrow!" She turned around and jogged off towards her room as the elevator took us up to our floor.

Red blinked and glanced down at us. I wondered what she meant by that as well and shrugged at him. As far as I knew, Red never tried to impersonate anyone.

Pikachu led the way to the room with a yawn, ready to go to bed and I stretched my limbs out as soon as we entered the room. Mew had already fallen asleep, whatever she had been doing had tired her out and Red ran a hand through his hair after he removed his hat. She was laying diagonally on the bed so that she was taking up most of the space and I chuckled.

 _"I'll move her out of the way,"_ I said. As gently as I could, I moved her to have her head on the pillow instead of on the crumbled-up blankets.

Red released the rest of the team on his way to the bed and a chorus of yawns met us. With the lack of sleep we had last night, I was grateful the moment we climbed into bed. As I set my head down onto him and he mindlessly scratched my fur, I closed my eyes and wished we could stay like this forever and forget all about the troubles of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's taken so long for an update! I got over my writer's block and I have all the chapters planned out so now it won't be nearly as long for updates to happen <3


	14. The Tournament - First Round I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember: pokemon in this fic can use more than 4 moves :)
> 
> Also, if the battles seem confusing I'm sorry I suck at writing them.

_Pikachu_

I woke up on Monday morning with an overwhelming surge of excitement.

Yes, I knew we weren't battling today but just the thought that tournament was _finally_ starting, I couldn't get over it. I didn't even complain when the alarm woke everyone up or that Espeon and Mew were being extremely loud this morning or even how hot it was in the room.

The others were just as excited as I was and it took all of my willpower not to send out random electric shocks around the room. I've short-circuited many rooms in my time and I didn't want to damage this one, too. When one gets lectured by Red, it sort of stays with you. He gets scary when he's angry.

Anyway, when we went to the first floor to meet the others a half hour before noon, my ears twitched when I heard a voice far more distinct than all the others I heard just outside of the lobby doors. If that was who I think it was, then this day just got even better!

From my perch on Red's shoulder, I watched the doors open and once we stepped outside, Blue turned around and he grinned at us. "Took you long enough, you slowpoke," he taunted and a hand gently slapped the back of his head. "Ow! Gramps!"

"Be nice, Blue." I smiled brightly as soon as I saw Professor Oak. He was shorter and had a few more white hairs than I remembered but he smiled all the same. He didn't have his white lab coat on that hid his red polo shirt and khaki pants and a pair of glasses hung from his shirt collar. I suppose with age, it was natural to lose a little sight. "Look at you, Red! You've grown even taller since last I saw you!" he hugged Red and I gratefully accepted the chin scratches he gave me. "And you're just as cute as ever, Pikachu."

 _"You bet your ass I am,"_ I said even if they couldn't understand me. I saw him reach into his pocket and pulled out a small treat.

"Brought this from home, I know you like these a lot."

"Gramps, you spoil that yellow rat too much," Blue chastised as I gratefully accepted the pokepuff treat.

"Pikachu is cute, you jerk!" came a feminine voice. I gaped when I saw Leaf wave at us from behind the professor, her brown eyes narrowed at Blue in annoyance before she turned them to Red and I. The first thought I had was that it was strange not to see her in her favorite outfit after so long and she adjusted her green hat a little to see us better. "Long time, no see!"

"When did you get here?" Red blurted. He was just as startled as I was to see her here of all places.

"If you had come with me to pick up Gramps, you would have known then but no, you had to ditch me," Blue complained.

"Thus, ditching me, too," Leaf accused and suddenly hugged Red. "It's been forever! Why don't you ever come to see me?"

Red patted her back to satisfy her enough to make her let go. "Because you're never home," he answered truthfully.

She laughed. "True, I guess. At least you text me back, that's always good."

"Wait, he texts you back? He leaves me on read!" Blue whined.

I smiled as I watched their interactions. It felt good to have the old gang back together again and as I looked between them all, I heard the doors of the hotel open once again. Red glanced at White as she came down the stairs with Ethan, Black, Nate, Rosa and Brendan. White peered at Leaf curiously and if I hadn't known any better, she seemed to look cautious.

Ethan jumped the last few steps, grinning as he greeting, "Hey, Prof! I didn't know you were here!"

"Literally told you like a thousand times he was here," Blue told him with a roll of his eyes.

"What about me?" Leaf whined.

"What about you?"

Leaf huffed and then turned away from him to face the newcomers. "Hi, everyone! I'm Leaf! I just flew in with Professor Oak a few days ago."

Brendan was staring at Professor Oak with wide, star-struck eyes. "I didn't think I'd meet you like, ever," he said. His face turned pink from embarrassment as we all looked at him. "I—I mean, I love your work, Professor and I've read all of your papers!"

Professor Oak seemed impressed and replied, "You have? They aren't exactly easy reads."

I was also amazed by Brendan. Red had tried to read some of the professor's work a long time ago but it didn't take a genius to know that it had all gone way over his head. The fact that Brendan had understood everything that was written in those essays and various reports of the professor's studies suggested to me that he was a very intelligent young man and if he somehow retired from pokemon training, he could probably easily get a job related to pokemon science.

"Yeah. Professor Birch had some reports laying around in his lab so I read them when he let me."

"You're competing in the tournament too, right?" Leaf asked as she looked at him when he nodded. "Strong _and_ smart, I like that." She turned around with a little wink as Brendan's face turned a bright red.

I rolled my eyes. Leaf was just the same as ever.

"I—uhm, thanks?"

"Don't give into her antics, she'll just keep going if you let her," Blue advised.

Brendan's face flushed again and Black stepped forward. "I'm Black, this is my sister, White," he said to save our flustered friend. "That over there is Rosa and Nate."

"And you've already met Ethan, so now that introductions are over, let's go before we're late for the first day," Blue said.

"I want to see the opening ceremony!" Leaf exclaimed and smiled as she linked her arms with Blue and Red on either side of her, pulling them alongside her. "Remember when I had to drag you two out of the safari center? Just like old times, am I right?"

Blue was scowling but he made no move to pull free. "No!"

I glanced back to see White's eyes glaring daggers into Leaf's back. All I could sense was jealousy radiating from her. I prayed for Leaf's safety if they were somehow alone together.

I got off of Red and walked next to Professor Oak instead and tapped his foot before I jumped onto his shoulder. He had mentioned the last time we saw him that he was getting too old for me to suddenly jump onto his shoulder like I did to everyone else so I decided to start warning him with those taps. He didn't seem to mind and even paused briefly to let me get comfortable.

From this new position, not only would I be able to better keep an eye on the three Kanto trainers that were up ahead, I would probably be able to get a few more treats from the old man. I snickered when I saw Leaf pull the two boys with her with ease as she had always done, practically running to the stadium in her own excitement and ignored Blue's loud objections and my own trainer's annoyed face.

"Are you okay, White?" I heard Rosa ask from behind us.

I looked over my shoulder again.

White was still scowling and she mumbled, "I'm fine."

"She's just jealous Red got taken away by someone else," Black said and skillfully avoided her impending smack to his head, grinning the whole time.

Her face turned pink immediately. "He's not my boyfriend!" she snapped.

"I never said that!"

Rosa gasped and exclaimed, "He's your boyfriend?!"

She turned around to face her so fast, I thought she would trip over her own feet. "No!" she cried.

"Blue told me he saw them making out a couple weeks ago," Black informed them.

"This is news to me," Nate said.

Ethan looked shocked and kept looking between Red and White. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he whined, "You're telling me that mister lives on a cold ass mountain way far away from civilization has a girlfriend but I can't even get a phone number?"

"No!" White snapped.

Brendan was grinning beside Black, who gave his twin a victorious smirk. "Then what are you two?" he asked.

"We're just friends! He's not my boyfriend and we didn't make out, okay?!"

I wanted to laugh so hard with the others that laughed at her and I tried to restrain myself from doing so when I saw Professor Oak glance at me. He, too, had a smile on his face and whispered to me, "Let's just pretend we didn't hear a thing, eh?"

I snorted, knowing that I wasn't going to pretend. I was going to remember this whole conversation for a very long time.

\---

As the stadium got closer, I noticed how many more security guards were placed around the entrances. I was glad that the director had taken the threat of the Shadow Triad seriously and wondered since people were being allowed in if anyone had even found anything going on. Hopefully nothing would happen and we would have a great time, but knowing our luck I knew it would be anything but that.

The screams of the crowd caused us all to pause when we reached it and I jumped from Professor Oak back to my trainer when we had finally caught up and stopped at the side entrance. "Too bad we can't join you guys in those box things," Leaf said as she scratched my head. "I want an awesome view like that, too!"

"We already have nice seats that the League so generously provided us and Red's mother," Professor Oak told her.

"Yeah, don't be picky because you couldn't get past Agatha," Blue taunted and grinned as Leaf scowled at him.

"Ghosts scare me!" she retorted.

"Me too, I don't like ghost-types," Nate said and shuddered a little.

She motioned both hands towards him theatrically. "See, I'm not the only one!" She looked at Nate. "We're best friends now."

Nate looked startled. "B-best friends?"

"Let's go, Leaf," Professor Oak said. He took out two tickets from his pocket as he headed for the front gates to the stadium.

Leaf jogged after him and then turned to look at us and gave her signature wink before she disappeared around the corner with the professor.

"Your friend is… something," Brendan said after a brief moment of blissful silence.

"She's a crackhead," Blue replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I think she's fun!" Rosa said and smiled. Then she turned to the door and the guard opened it up for us.

Red lagged behind a little on purpose to wait for White as the others went ahead and went straight for the staircase except for Nate, who took a different direction, running off to a different door that revealed a set of stairs that went down. The rest of their voices were loud and excited, echoing through the hall above the muffled cries of the fans outside.

We waited on the steps for her and when she finally decided to start climbing the steps, she seemed surprised we were still there. "Oh, hey. I thought you were already with the others," she said.

I got off of Red's shoulder and waited for them both on the last step. White seemed a little upset, though I wasn't sure if it was because she was tired or if it was because of the other's teasing from the walk.

Red's eyes softened slightly, noticing it as well. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine. Just tired, I guess."

He didn't seem convinced but nodded anyway.

Once she caught up to us, she asked curiously, "So, how long have you known them?"

He clearly had no idea who she meant and glanced at her with a face that plainly asked what she was talking about.

She chuckled. "The professor and your friend, I mean."

"Oh." I rolled my eyes at my trainer. Sometimes I wonder how in the world we've survived in the world for so long. "I've known Blue, Leaf and Professor Oak all my life. Blue's sister, Daisy, is a few years older than us, so we were the only kids in Pallet Town and we were close."

"Huh. I didn't know Blue had a sister. What's Pallet Town like?" she asked curiously.

"Tiny. Everyone knows everyone."

"That sounds like Nuvema Town. That's where I'm from—it's a tiny little town south of Striaton City."

As she talked about her hometown, I noticed how slow they were walking up the stairs and how invested Red actually was into the conversation, even pointing out the similarities between the two towns. I began to wonder if they just wanted time to themselves when they took a step every few seconds and when I heard a wave of cheers from outside the hall, I scowled. O.G.A.D. be damned right now, I wanted to see a battle for the first time in months!

Frustrated that they were taking their sweet time going up the last four steps of the second staircase, I whined, _"Hurry up! You two can flirt later! I want to actually watch the matches instead of hanging out in the hall!"_

Red and White turned their heads when they heard me. Whether or not they understood me, I didn't know but Red rose a brow and White started to laugh. "I think he's getting impatient," she told him and jogged up the last few steps. "Best not let everyone else wait on us, too."

 _"Finally. Slowpokes,"_ I mumbled under my breath and followed them down a short hall towards a closed door.

As soon they opened it, the quiet, echoed hall burst to life, the screams of excited fans hit us all at once and I gawked at the sight. There was enough leg room between both rows of seats for someone to practically lay down but that wasn't what I had been astounded by. The plexiglass safety barrier at the edge reached just above Red's hips and had three panels with gaps between them that were enough room for me to squeeze my head through to stare out at the stands.

From this spot, I could see almost all of the seats in the entire stadium other than the ones directly above us. I was amazed just by how many people were here! There were easily thousands of people and pokemon here and many of them held signs or souvenirs of their favorite competitor of the day. I tried to see if I could find Professor Oak and Leaf somewhere in the crowd, though I doubted I would be able to with this many people.

"I didn't think there would be _this_ many people," Brendan said as he leaned forward on the barrier to curiously look out at the stands.

"You're gonna get your head stuck, Pikachu," I heard Ethan warn from behind me.

I pulled my head back and stuck my tongue out at him instead. I wasn't going to get stuck!

"It's called a _world tournament_ for a reason," White told Brendan as she sat down in one of the ten seats.

"You have to admit there a lot more people this year than last," Rosa stated.

"There's more champions competing this year, so of course there's going to be a lot more people," Blue said and took a seat as well.

I ignored the humans for the moment and looked directly across the stadium at the other box. I could see that Lance was sitting beside Cynthia with Steven, Alder, Diantha and Wallace also there. I had no idea where the other champions were other than Nate and Dawn, as they were both the first to battle.

Red took the seat at the edge of the first row as fireworks suddenly went off around the top of the stadium and loud music started playing from speakers. The sudden noise startled me and I jumped straight into Red's lap and remained there as the screens around the stadium started playing footage from various battles.

 _"Hello and welcome to the first day of the Champion's Circuit here at the Driftveil City Stadium!"_ a voice suddenly over the speakers, followed by several cheers. I grinned as the screen showed a green-haired trainer and Brendan's father. _"Who will join Wally, who triumphed over all other trainers in the Trainer's Circuit, and Norman, the victor of the Gym Leader Circuit?"_

"I didn't know your dad actually won," I heard White say as the screen showed the two trainers accepting their trophies.

Ethan looked at Brendan with a smile and said, "That's awesome! I'm just glad he beat Claire!"

"He's tough, you know," Brendan bragged. "Even if it was only by one point, though."

 _"Eighteen region champions compete against each other for the top spot for everyone to find out just who exactly is the World Champion! Will Champion Cynthia be able to hold onto her title another year?"_ The screen showed an intense scene from a match against Lance and herself with two dragon-types I hadn't seen before, but they both seemed ferocious as they fought tooth and claw until ultimately, Lance's teammate was knocked out and Cynthia was declared the winner.

The door suddenly opened and I turned my head behind when I saw Calem and Serena enter, both of them panting as if they had sprinted all the way here. "You guys don't mind if we join you, right? We tried sitting with the others but they're so _boring,_ " Calem complained.

"So we ran away when we saw you guys come and told them we were gonna join you," Serena added as she caught her breath.

Ethan laughed. "Lance is usually a boring guy," he said as the two Kalos champions sat down. "All he talks about sometimes is just how his cape was handed down to him from his family generations ago and blah, blah, blah."

Calem laughed. "I'm glad we got away then."

"I thought he wouldn't stop talking to us about it," Serena said.

"Welcome to the club," Blue replied. He seemed to be practically ignoring the rest of us, his eyes fixed on the field.

The screen changed to all of the trainer's pictures on the screen again until it changed to just Dawn and Nate and a giant _V.S._ between them. _"Today's first match is Champion Dawn of Sinnoh versus Champion Nate of Unova!"_ the announcer interrupted as the music died down. _"Let us welcome both competitors to the field!"_

I watched Nate and Dawn both enter the field on opposite sides until they stopped just inside of a painted box on the ground. Nate grinned at Dawn, all of his nerves seemingly gone and he took one of his pokeballs into a hand. Dawn smirked at him, a pokeball already in her own hand.

A woman's voice a little quieter but just as enthusiastic as the first one then said, _"This will be a full six-versus-six battle. Switches are allowed, held items are allowed. No other items are permitted. Champions, please send out your first pokemon!"_

Nate tossed out his pokeball first. "Let's go, Darmanitan!" he shouted. His pokemon appeared and let out a loud roar, the flames sprouting high just above his eyes. I noticed it was wearing a necklace with a medium-sized pinkish orb attached to it. I already knew it was a life orb; it was a risky item to hold during a battle but it definitely had its benefits.

Dawn threw hers out next, "Go, Staraptor!" A flying-type slightly smaller than Pidgeot came out with a shrill cry and landed on the ground and eyed his opponent and held his head up high in a challenging way. I couldn't see anything it could be holding and I wondered if maybe he wasn't holding anything at all. No one in my team held any items and we did just fine without them.

A hush fell over the crowd as we all waited in anticipation for the referee to allow them to begin. It felt like a lifetime until the first announcer suddenly shouted, _"You may begin!"_

"Darmanitan, use Work Up!" Nate immediately commanded. Darmanitan let out a shout as he increased his stats, puffing out his chest to prove a point.

At the same time Dawn said, "Use Agility, Staraptor!" Staraptor jumped into the air so smoothly, I forgot for a moment he had even been on the ground in the beginning.

Nate looked up and nodded at Darmanitan. "Fire Punch!"

Staraptor closed his wings in a rapid dive to avoid the attack and snapped them back open, although he was surprised when Darmanitan had quickly lunged back into the air and slammed a fire-coated fist into him.

 _"Champion Nate lands the first attack! Will Champion Dawn be able to retaliate?"_ the first announcer interrupted and I scowled to myself. This was why Red preferred to battle far out of the public eye; commentators were annoying, especially in matches as large as this.

Dawn looked up at Staraptor and I knew she was completely ignoring the voice from the intercom as well. "Brave Bird!"

 _"Dodge this, you overgrown monkey!"_ I heard Staraptor taunt when his body took on a bright glow as he dove straight for Darmanitan.

"Meet it with Flare Blitz!" Nate said.

 _"I am no monkey, I am Darmanitan!"_ Darmanitan retorted to Staraptor. Fire shot up bright from his brows and he ran forward to meet Staraptor in the middle of the field.

The two met each other in a sudden explosion that caused a cheer to erupt even as the smoke cleared and neither pokemon even seemed winded. Even from our spot high up in the stadium, I could see the fire in both trainers eyes, clearly thrilled to have met a strong opponent.

 _"Both attacks are strong moves that most trainers tend to avoid due to the recoil, but it seems like they aren't even hurt!"_ the first announcer shouted. I decided to call him One and the other commentator Two.

Staraptor shot back into the air to get away from another Fire Punch although Darmanitan jumped back into the air to attack again. Dawn suddenly smirked and I knew she and Staraptor wouldn't be surprised by Nate's trick again. "Now, Staraptor! Close Combat!"

Nate's eyes widened. "Darmanitan, get away!" he shouted, although it was too late.

Staraptor pummeled Darmanitan in the air in quick succession and the last hit sent him flying back into the ground, skidding into the ground and flying past his trainer.

Blue whistled from behind me, clearly impressed but Rosa sighed loudly with a mumbled, "I told him not to do that more than once."

 _"What a rush! Will Darmanitan be able to recover from this?"_ Two asked.

Darmanitan got up and although he was panting and had a shallow cut beside his right brow from Staraptors talons, he kept on grinning and jumped back into the fight. _"Nate told us that our opponents will be difficult. I'm glad you're our first step to winning this competition!"_ he said to Staraptor.

The flying-type scoffed. _"You mean you are our first step, since we will win!"_ he replied and fanned his wings to take to the air again.

"Keep Staraptor grounded, Darmanitan! Psychic!" Nate yelled.

 _"Psychic?!"_ I exclaimed. I had expected Darmanitan to be a pure fire-type, had I been wrong?

Dawn seemed just as surprised as I felt and as Staraptor was dragged back down and slammed into the ground, she shook her head to herself. "Staraptor! Use Roost!"

"Don't let him, Darmanitan! Stone Edge!"

Staraptor struggled to avoid the attacks now, panting as he narrowly dodged another spike of rock shooting up at him. He managed to get a Roost off as he flew up higher and then flapped his wings powerfully a few times followed by a strong wind that suddenly started to pick up with Tailwind. He was hit with another Fire Punch at this time but with a wince, he remained standing.

"That is one stubborn bird," Blue stated.

"She's setting up for her next pokemon," Calem noted. "Smart."

 _"It looks like Staraptor is on his last legs! What will Champion Dawn do next?"_ One cried, followed by the cheers.

Staraptor and Dawn ignored the voices and she commanded, "Rain Dance!"

Nate frowned a little, not enjoying where she was going with her plans. "Knock it out, Darmanitan! Fire Punch one last time!" he shouted.

With one last Fire Punch, Staraptor was finally down and the dark clouds began to build over the stadium with a sudden downpour of rain. Luckily, the stadiums seats were covered, clearly already prepared for the weather changes any pokemon would possibly be used.

 _"Staraptor has fainted! Darmanitan has won the first bout, but will Champion Nate and Darmanitan be able to continue in this rain?"_ One asked.

Dawn recalled Staraptor and something changed in her face that made my eyes widen a little bit. She had that same look as Red did when they grew serious and a frown had replaced her overconfident smirk. She quietly thanked Staraptor as she clipped his pokeball onto her belt and pulled out the next one and said, "We got this. Empoleon, go!"

The announcers immediately started to gush over Empoleon, the tall and proud water-type as he held his head high, not unlike Serperior did around us. _"Champion Dawn has sent out her famous Empoleon!"_ Two said. _"Rumor has it that this was the pokemon that took down the legendary pokemon, Giratina!"_

I saw Nate grow nervous, although Darmanitan didn't share that nervousness as he grinned. _"Another challenger!"_ he said. He huffed when Empoleon didn't reply. _"Ah, I see. Stoic as all can be!"_

Dawn didn't give them a chance to attack when she commanded just after Darmanitan stopped talking, "Hydro Pump!"

It took me by surprise as Empoleon immediately attacked not even two seconds out of his pokeball, the powerful attack slamming into Darmanitan with such force that I winced for the fire-type. I've been hit by Hydro Pump one too many times before, Blastoise's attacks were nothing to ignore and Empoleon seemed just as strong as him.

One and Two both let out awed noises until One said, _"Empoleon didn't give Darmanitan a chance to attack!"_

When Darmanitan didn't get up, Nate recalled him before the announcers could even say that he had fainted. He then took out his next pokemon. "Go, Serperior!"

Nate's Serperior was a little longer than White's and just like his Darmanitan, she also had an item—a small, yellow seed that was tucked into her body where the collar of her leaves met. The two majestic pokemon stared each other down silently, both waiting for the other to do something.

Nate finally made the first move. "Leech Seed!"

Serperior used her tail to fling tiny, glowing seeds at Empoleon but with quick evasiveness, he dodged as transparent swords clashed in front of him and disappeared just as quickly. _Swords Dance,_ my mind supplied.

"Stealth Rock next!" Dawn commanded. I had to give it to her: she was good and Empoleon nimbly dodged another Leech Seed as the rocks appeared on Nate's side of the field and just like the Swords Dance, they faded away.

"Try it one more time, Serperior! Leech—!" Nate started but Dawn was quicker.

"Drill Peck, Empoleon!" Dawn commanded.

Rosa let out a frustrated noise. "I _told him_ —gah! Never mind!" she said. She made it sound like she was helping him learn new strategies that weren't sticking and perhaps I wasn't wrong when Black gave her a sympathetic look.

Empoleon's beak started to glow a bright white and I wondered if he had ever gotten sick from suddenly spinning that fast. A blur of blue and black shot straight for Serperior and I gaped when she was slammed into the ground, breaking it upon impact. While she wasn't immediately knocked out, I saw her get up as her body glowed a soft green—a sign that Overgrow was in effect already.

Rosa's eyes were wide with shock and I heard her stutter, "W-what? Already?"

"What's wrong?" Serena asked. "Empoleon used a move that a grass-type is weak against, right?"

"Yeah, but when we battle, it always takes me forever to take her down even when I use Emboar!" she exclaimed.

White bobbed her head up and down. "I have trouble against his Serperior, and Dawn is taking care of her like it's nothing!"

I kept watching the match and watched as Nate called for a Leaf Tornado to get Empoleon away and although it hit him, Empoleon used Aqua Jet to get back up into her face for another Drill Peck as if he hadn't been hit by the grass-type move at all. I gulped quietly as he stood over Serperior after the dust cleared, victorious in just a few moves.

Maybe I shouldn't have been so confident that we would win this tournament. Watching Empoleon take someone he was naturally weak to so easily forced me to re-think that we were the strongest trainers in the world. Maybe we needed to rethink our training regimen.

Nate stared at his fallen teammate in shock as the Rain Dance finally faded and gave way to the afternoon sun once more. He recalled Serperior back into her pokeball after a moment and muttered something to it before he clipped it back to his belt. _"Champion Dawn has taken out Serperior in just a few moves! Is this what a trainer capable of taking down a legendary is truly made of?"_ One suddenly shouted.

"Uh-oh, he's in trouble," Black muttered, leaning forward a little in his seat.

"How come?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Empoleon is also a steel-type." He rose his pokedex to show us he had scanned Empoleon already. "Most of his team have weaknesses to basically everything Empoleon is and after seeing that, I don't think he'll make much of a dent against the rest of her team if Empoleon is like this."

"He managed to take down Staraptor, though," Rosa said confidently. "I think he'll be able to beat Empoleon!" I noticed how she mentioned only the pokemon and not the trainer and looked at Nate as he unclipped his third pokeball.

"He's basically screwed is what you're all saying," Blue told them.

Black nodded. "Yep."

Red smirked ever so slightly at White. I knew that was for the bet they had made before.

"Shut up, Red," she mumbled, much to the others confusion and Serena's timid, "But he didn't say anything?"

I watched as Nate threw his pokeball, completely unaware to the conversation. "Go, Bouffalant!" he said confidently. "We can do this!"

The four-legged pokemon appeared with a snort of pain from the Stealth Rock but it didn't seem to slow him down as he stared at Empoleon and tossed his head. _"You seem strong,"_ he mentioned passively.

Empoleon seemed to finally react and smirked a little. _"I'm not letting you hinder our progress in this tournament,"_ he answered calmly.

Dawn stuck her arm forward towards Bouffalant. "Aqua Jet!" she shouted. Empoleon lunged forward just as fast as before and a blur of blue water shot straight for the normal-type.

Bouffalant remained where he was and stood his ground. When Empoleon was close enough, he suddenly lowered his head and allowed Empoleon to crash into him but with a loud yell, he tossed his head up to fling Empoleon into the air.

It caught both Dawn and Empoleon by surprise and Nate shouted, "Head Charge!"

I was surprised as well when Bouffalant lunged up into the air and as if a wind had encircled him, he crashed into the water-type with his powerful horns before he had time to correct himself and protect himself. Empoleon let out a pained cry when he was the one sent crashing to the ground.

As Bouffalant landed on all four hooves, the announcers both exclaimed, _"Has Champion Nate been holding back on us?"_

Nate looked proud as Bouffalant tossed his head when Empoleon struggled to get up, the excitement having never left his eyes and he gave Dawn a smile. "We aren't through yet." He glanced at his pokemon. "Give it all you've got, Bouffalant."

Dawn straightened herself as Empoleon returned to his spot in front of her, a slight _sching_ noise coming from him as he moved both arms on either side of him. She smiled back at Nate before she glanced at her pokemon. "You good, Empoleon?"

Empoleon gave her a quiet nod.

Nate pointed forward towards Empoleon and shouted, "Head Charge, Bouffalant!"

"Dodge it, Empoleon!" Dawn directed. As Bouffalant's attack missed and Empoleon spun around to face the normal-type, I saw Dawn give her pokemon a nod. "Hydro Pump!"

Bouffalant was too slow to avoid it and while he had been initially slammed by it, he dug his hooves into the ground and started to take a few steps forward. He was gritting his teeth in effort from the sheer power and when the water suddenly increased in strength, I gaped.

That was no Hydro Pump, not anymore. That Hydro Pump looked like a child's play thing compared to this! I've seen very few pokemon including Blastoise use the strongest water-type move and it was always a sight to behold.

"Hydro Cannon!" Dawn cried.

Within the span of a few seconds, the water finally overtook Bouffalant with a powerful rush of sound. The crash from Bouffalant hitting the ground just beside the stands—which were smartly put high above the arena itself to avoid any injuries to the spectators—to the cheering from the fans were all going on at the same time. When the water cleared, I watched as Bouffalant panted on the ground before he took his time to get back up on shaky hooves.

Bouffalant staggered back in front of Nate and as Empoleon suffered the after effects of using Hydro Cannon. Nate was grinning like a maniac and Dawn looked a little pale at the sight. Confidently, he said, "Revenge."

"Empoleon—!"

Suddenly Bouffalant sprinted at Empoleon and slammed both horns into him, sending him flying straight into the wall below the stands like he weighed nothing.

 _"What a counter attack! While risky, Revenge does have its benefits!"_ One shouted above all the noise.

Dawn didn't seem as worried as I'd thought. Both she and Nate were staring at the crash site where Empoleon had been thrown in tense silence, waiting for either Empoleon to step out or the dust to clear. When they saw something I couldn't from my spot, I saw Nate's eyes widen and it was Dawn's turn to grin. "Empoleon, use Brine!" she suddenly cried.

"Bouffalant!" A torrent of water rushed for Bouffalant and hit him in his side when he tried to jump away, finally knocking him out.

Empoleon walked out of the dust that had risen from where he'd fallen and while he was glowing with Torrent, he flexed his claws, ready for the next opponent.

I heard Blue let out a whistle. "That Empoleon is a tank," he stated as Bouffalant was recalled.

"How did Empoleon not faint after that?" Brendan asked, his eyes wide with awe.

Calem leaned forward with interest and replied, "Who knows, but she's really strong."

 _"With only three pokemon left, what will Champion Nate send out next?"_ Two called out.

I watched as he sent out his fourth pokemon and flicked my ears as he made a strong rumbling noise, as if rocks were being dragged against each other. I tilted my head. That pokemon seemed old, almost as old as Aerodactyl was. Was he another fossil pokemon?

 _"Champion Nate has sent out Carracosta! Will Carracosta's jaws be able to defeat Empoleon?"_ One asked.

Carracosta sized Empoleon up as the latter let out a long breath and took another deep one in, trying to quickly catch his breath before the next battle began.

When I heard Nate and Dawn both yelling a move at their teammates, I felt a strange tingle in my mind, not unlike Espeon when she would telepathically communicate with us. Red seemed to have felt it as well and scratched my ears as we heard Mew say, _"We can't find anything. No one else has come into the stadium and no one here seems to be, I dunno, ninjas."_

 _Then why would they tell him to stay away?_ I heard Red's thought ask. I was ashamed that it took me a few seconds to figure out what he meant. The Shadow Triad. While I really didn't want to worry about them when I was watching a _really_ good match, I guess it couldn't be helped.

 _"Maybe they were bluffing?"_ I suggested.

Red was quiet, his face impassive as his thoughts answered, _I don't think so. Something likely happened if they aren't here._

I jumped when the ground shook violently with Earthquake and we both looked back at the field, seeing that Empoleon had finally fallen and crashed hard into the ground with a groan. _"Whoa, Nate finally took him down!"_

 _"Mewtwo and I will keep an eye out. If we see anything, you'll be the first to know."_ Mew suddenly giggled. _"Unless we squish their brains!"_

_Please don't do that._

_"You're no fun, Red."_ I could just hear her pout and she cut the connection off, leaving us to our own thoughts once more.

I tapped my chin as Dawn grabbed Empoleon's pokeball and returned him. What were those two teams planning, anyway? If it was world domination, I had a feeling more than just Red and the Unova twins had experience stopping that.

Dawn sent out her third pokemon. "Leafeon, let's finish this off!" she cried.

When the eevee-lution appeared, I suddenly wanted to know how many other evolutions there were. Espeon only chose, well, Espeon to learn how to have Red understand her and eventually the rest of the team. She could’ve picked Umbreon or the other three with the stones, but I was startled to learn that there was a grass-type eevee. How many other types were there?

Leafeon gracefully landed on the ground, her tail flicking. The closer I looked, the sharper her tail seemed, too. I wouldn't want to get hit by that lest I wanted a new scar.

Nate seemed to have cursed under his breath and took Carracosta's pokeball and returned him, though he tossed another one out just as quickly. "Go, Beartic!" he said.

 _"It looks like Champion Nate has decided to switch Carracosta out for Beartic!"_ One shouted.

Beartic was large, more than double Leafeon's petite size, and let out a challenging roar. I saw his breath as though he was in cold weather, though it faded away as he looked down at Leafeon. _"I do not think you are worthy of me, little one,"_ he said, his voice deep and yet his tone sounded more worried than mocking. My tail twitched slightly with confusion. Was he actually worried he would hurt someone during a battle? I mean, it wasn't uncommon, but that usually happened to trainers and their pokemon when they are far more inexperienced.

Leafeon tilted her head but she let out a chuckle, her own voice warm and kind when she replied, _"You don't need to worry about me, big guy. I've taken down many froslass, glalie and abomasnow in my time."_

Beartic laughed. _"Do not say I didn't warn you!"_

Nate said shortly after, "Beartic, use Icicle Crash!"

Leafeon patiently watched as giant icicles formed from Beartic's breath and continued to watch when they were sent flying towards her. She waited until they were close to her and I watched her use Swords Dance. I wondered if Nate could also see the Swords Dance but I wouldn't have been surprised if he couldn't since the icicles were large enough to hide her. Leafeon suddenly jumped up when one almost hit her and landed on top of the next one that had been flung in her direction.

Beartic looked around for her when the icicles disappeared along with her and then finally looked up as Dawn shouted, "Double Kick!"

As graceful as a cat, Leafeon came crashing down onto Beartic with her paws striking his back twice. Beartic let out a pained noise as he was sent into the ground and he glanced back as Leafeon landed on the ground with a miniscule smile. _"That one was a freebie. I was merely testing you!"_ he said.

She seemed to raise a brow but didn't reply, instead running right at him with her tail suddenly straightening when Dawn said, "Leaf Blade!"

"Use Blizzard!" Nate shouted.

Beartic took in a deep breath and a powerful gust of wind and ice was shot towards Leafeon, instantly forcing her to divert her path to avoid being hit. She ducked under another Blizzard and dodged an Ice Punch when she was close. I could see her smirk even from here, clearly having fun toying with the larger pokemon.

I snickered a little to myself as I watched. Being small does have its advantages, especially when paired up against an opponent much larger than yourself.

Leafeon finally struck Beartic with Leaf Blade and when she had jumped away, I noticed little seeds sprouting over Beartic's arm. That close, no one could have avoided a Leech Seed. While Beartic was distracted trying to get Leech Seed off, she took in a breath and the leaves on her body shined brightly and whatever clouds that had been in the sky suddenly disappeared and the sun beat down on them with Sunny Day.

Nate frowned a little as Beartic backed off a bit, avoiding another Leaf Blade. "Use Hail! Get rid of the Sun—"

"Leafeon, stop them! Solar Blade!" Dawn interrupted.

Leafeon glowed with the power and with Sunny Day, she didn't need to wait for it to finish charging as she sprinted to Beartic with unbelievable speed and a glowing sword appeared out of nowhere. It hit Beartic hard enough to break his concentration and he yelped in shock, hitting the ground one more time.

She jumped away from another Ice Punch and I saw the Leech Seed giving her more energy while sapping what little Beartic had left. _"You shouldn't judge someone by their size, big guy,"_ she told him before she finished him off with a final Double Kick, successfully knocking him out.

Cheers erupted and Two exclaimed, _"Incredible! Not only did Champion Dawn's Leafeon take down Champion Nate's Beartic, but they did it without taking a single hit!"_

I noticed Blue was watching with amazement and then he glanced at Red and I. "I think we've found our match," he said when Nate recalled Beartic.

"Hey, Nate still has two pokemon left, he can do this!" Rosa said.

White rose a brow as she leaned back in her seat. "Carracosta's extremely weak to grass-types and so is Krookodile. I dunno if he's going to make it past this round," she said.

I glanced back onto the field when Nate sent out what I assumed to be Krookodile. I noticed it was also wearing a life orb around its neck and I had a feeling it wasn't going to work out as well for Krookodile like it had for Darmanitan. I saw that his claws took on a dark glow and it faded, leaving his claws sharper than before. I knew he had used Hone Claws even before I heard the command from Nate.

Krookodile then rushed forward, faster than Beartic had been. "Fire Fang!" Nate shouted.

Leafeon managed to avoid the first snap of his jaws but when he caught her back leg with the second, she let out a pained yip before being flung hard into the ground. I noticed that her leg was burned from where she had been hit and Nate grinned when he saw it as well.

 _"Krookodile has managed to land the first hit against Leafeon!"_ Two cried, followed by cheers. I heard a voice cheer below us for Nate suddenly, followed by a chorus of _Dawn_ and _Nate_ shortly after.

The Sunny Day faded and Leafeon danced away from a mean-looking Crunch. She then jumped above Krookodile and I noticed her tail taking on that sharp look again. "Leaf Blade, Leafeon!" Dawn shouted.

Krookodile looked up and jumped to meet her in the air, his fangs igniting with Fire Fang once more. Nate looked surprised when Leafeon landed on the top of Krookodile's nose and she smirked at Krookodile. _"Nice try, but your teams air tricks don't work on us anymore,"_ she said before she jumped off and used Leaf Blade from behind him.

The attack hit him hard and when he hit the ground, dust and dirt flew into the air, shrouding his form for a few seconds until it cleared. Krookodile didn't get up from the ground, fainted and Nate recalled him with a forced smile. "Give it your all, Carracosta!" he shouted, sending Carracosta back out one last time.

I knew there was no way Carracosta would win, so I watched as Blue got to his feet with a stretch. "I hope Diantha's tough like Dawn is," he said and grinned as he looked out to the field.

After seeing this match between Dawn and Nate, I honestly hoped Serena would also give us a challenge like this. Speaking of which, the Kalos trainer was in awe of the battle, watching as Carracosta put up a fight against Leafeon. "Dawn's really, _really_ good," she said when Carracosta finally fell and Dawn was declared the winner.

Calem glanced up at Blue with a small smirk. "You got your hands full with Diantha; she's tougher than she looks," he bragged.

"Hah! Just watch me, I'm going to beat her." He looked at Red and Ethan. "You guys root for me or I'll have your hides."

Ethan snorted. "I hope Diantha beats you just so I have a chance at fighting Red!" he said and smiled as Blue scowled at him.

"That's assuming you and Red actually beat Serena and Calem," Brendan noted and laughed as Ethan rolled his eyes.

Blue walked out soon while Nate and Dawn both left the field, one happy and the other disappointed. I noticed the screen flashing with highlights from the match while the field was rapidly repaired as humans and pokemon ran around like their lives depended on it—just how exactly they were able to, I had no idea. I just assumed it was technology.

As the field started to look like it had before Nate and Dawn's battle, One said, _"What an incredible first match that was! Give it up for Champion Dawn for advancing to the next round!"_ After the cheers and applause were over, the screen changed to Blue and Diantha's pictures. _"Our next match of the day is between Champion Diantha of Kalos versus Champion Blue of Kanto!"_

Nate suddenly slammed the door open and came inside with a pout. He flopped into a seat next to his sister and said, "You know, I could've won. I'd say I was pretty close to knocking out Leafeon."

"Keep telling yourself that, buddy," Black said and laughed at the glare he received.

"I did warn you not to—" Rosa tried to say.

Nate interrupted her with, "I know I screwed up! Don't need to lecture me about it."

Her eyes softened and she patted the top of his head. "Hey, it'll be okay. How much you wanna bet all of us are going to be out, too?"

Nate just grumbled under his breath unhappily.

When the field looked like nothing had happened just ten minutes prior—even the wall looked brand new—I heard One begin to speak again. _"Please join me in welcoming Champion Diantha and Champion Blue!"_

Blue strode out confidently with all his glory and his natural smirk on his face. Arceus, sometimes I just wanted to Thunderbolt him when he looked like that. He stopped where Nate had stood and stared at Diantha as she also stopped walking where Dawn had been. I noticed she was wearing a necklace with a tiny gem embedded into a gold pendant, much like the stones both Serena and Calem wore around their wrists. The keystone glimmered a little, almost like it had a mind of its own and sensed that they were going into battle.

 _"Just like before, this is a six-versus-six battle. Switches are allowed and held items are allowed. No other items are permitted. Please send out your first pokemon,"_ Two said, the thrill of the last battle having already left her voice in anticipation for this one.

I already knew which pokemon Blue was going to send out and grinned as he shouted, "Jolteon, go!" The electric eevee-lution appeared with a bark and his fur took on a few sparks before they quickly faded.

From the other side, Diantha yelled, "Hawlucha, let's battle!" Hawlucha appeared with a loud cry of her own before she bounced back and forth on her legs and held up her winged arms close to her face, clearly ready to battle.

Just like before, a hush fell over everyone until One shouted, _"Begin!"_

"Jolteon, use Agility!" Blue called instantly. Jolteon's fur seemed to have change ever so slightly, allowing him to move faster.

"Hawlucha! Use Swords Dance!" Diantha said. I tried not to roll my eyes. Swords Dance really was a popular move around here, wasn't it?

Blue didn't give her a chance to call out an attack. "Thunderbolt!"

Jolteon's fur bristled with energy until sparks shot out of him and towards Hawlucha. My eyes widened when I saw it, too. The last time I had seen Jolteon battle, his Thunderbolt wasn't nearly that strong. Now it looked like a Thunder! Arceus, I wished we had battled each other on the beach way back when. I didn't even want to know what Ethan's team was like now.

Hawlucha jumped away but yelled when she was struck by the second one. I stared in surprise when Hawlucha fainted in one hit and I saw the others also gaping in their own shock. "Since when has Blue been that strong?" Ethan demanded Red and I.

Red shrugged as if he didn't care but I knew better. I glanced up at my trainer and immediately sensed his excitement and a familiar look in his face when he looked at Blue. He wanted to battle his rival now that he had seen just a taste of his strength and I knew some of that brushed on me when I felt a few sparks leave my cheeks.

One and Two seemed to be at a loss for words. _"Oh my! That has to be the quickest knock-out this tournament will see! Champion Blue leads six to five! How will Champion Diantha recover from this unfortunate event?"_ One shouted.

I could see Blue's confident face struggle to keep his arrogance in check. Some things never changed—he enjoyed defeating others if only he could brag that he did. Granted, he had it under control most days now. He used to be so much worse when he was ten and would always brag to us which gym leader he had defeated before us by the time we would arrive in whatever town we came across next.

Diantha pulled out her second pokeball, ignoring the announcers. "Tyrantrum, go!" she shouted.

With a loud roar, the giant pokemon appeared and Jolteon looked up at it with a smirk. _"Finally, a challenge!"_ he said. Was the 'like trainer, like starter' statement true? Jolteon had definitely picked up a few of Blue's traits.

Tyrantrum snorted at him, unimpressed. _"You're too small to be making that statement,"_ he said. Oh, great, another pokemon that thinks its size meant something.

"Tyrantrum, use Crunch!" Diantha commanded.

While Jolteon was nowhere near as graceful as Leafeon, he did pretty good to avoid the giant jaws of the ancient pokemon a few times until he was finally caught around his middle and he let out a pained noise and used Double Kick to get out of his hold.

He limped as he landed in front of Blue and scowled at the larger pokemon. Blue gritted his teeth together in thought as Jolteon used another Double Kick to keep the larger pokemon away. He wordlessly grabbed his pokeball and recalled Jolteon.

 _"What's this? Jolteon is still standing but Blue has chosen to return it!"_ Two shouted amongst the cheers. _"Who will Blue choose next?"_

I smiled a little as Blue narrowed his eyes and knew he was finally getting serious as he pulled out his next pokeball. I'm pretty sure Jolteon could've taken on Tyrantrum but whatever Blue was thinking he was at least planning ahead. "Go, Machamp!" he shouted. He tossed the pokeball and Machamp came out with all four fists slamming into each other to show he was ready to fight before he parted them and got into a defensive stance.

_"It's Machamp!"_

Machamp stood its guard as he eyed Tyrantrum with a challenging look that seemed to only infuriate the supposedly extinct pokemon. He suddenly chuckled. _"I look forward to our bout!"_ he said.

Tyrantrum let out a growl. _"Your little friend couldn't handle my power, what makes you think you can?"_

Machamp frowned right back at him. _"In case you didn't know, you didn't knock him out."_

 _"He was too afraid to face me! He ran like a coward!"_ Tyrantrum laughed.

I looked between the two pokemon and saw Machamp narrow his eyes. He didn't like it when others insulted his teammates—I have been on the receiving end once or twice after making fun of Jolteon as well.

"Machamp, use Bulk Up!" Blue commanded and soon Machamp seemed to look stronger and his skin seemed to harden a little, raising his attack and defense.

Diantha smiled up at her pokemon. "Tyrantrum, you got this. Head Smash!" I watched as Tyrantrum ran towards Machamp, his head taking on that same look Bouffalant had.

Blue quickly countered with, "Dynamic Punch!"

There was no avoiding the punch or the Head Smash but Machamp seemed like he wouldn't even want to avoid it if he could. He still looked furious and they came barreling at each other, neither of them intending to avoid the other's attack. There was a burst of wind from the shockwave of impact, though Machamp was smirking whereas Tyrantrum had been stopped in his place. With one fist, Machamp had stopped the charging ancient pokemon and pulled away after a couple seconds.

Tyrantrum stumbled back a few steps and flailed his little arms; Dynamic Punch had successfully confused him. Blue smirked as Diantha looked startled, trying to get Tyrantrum to snap out of his confusion.

 _"It looks like Tyrantrum is confused while Machamp looks like it took no damage at all!"_ Two's voice said amongst the crowd's loud noises.

"Machamp, take this chance and use Focus Energy," Blue told Machamp.

Machamp nodded and concentrated, a bit of light coming but it left shortly, leaving him to hop back and forth in anticipation as Tyrantrum continued to thrash around in his confusion.

"Tyrantrum, listen to me! You're just confused!" Diantha said desperately, trying to soothe her pokemon. "Use Dragon Claw!" No such luck; the attack hit himself and Tyrantrum stumbled backwards again, though focus started to return to his eyes and he shook his head to finish clearing the confusion faster.

"Machamp, now's our chance! Use Seismic Toss!"

Machamp ran at the Tyrantrum just as his focus completely returned. He rushed forward just like before with Dragon Claw, however, Machamp avoided the attack. He grabbed his thick, heavy tail with all four arms and took a deep breath before he jumped into the air. I gaped as Machamp dragged the larger pokemon with him and then spun in two full circles before slamming the unfortunate dinosaur into the ground, breaking the newly fixed ground.

As Tyrantrum struggled to get up, Machamp fell to the ground from above him, his top two fists glowing slightly. "Dual Chop!"

"Tyrantrum, Ancient Power!" Diantha cried.

Machamp fell hard and fast, slamming said fists into Tyrantrum just as the rocks appeared at his sides and were thrown at the fighting-type. With a loud noise, rocks shot out at the field and both trainers on the field shielded their eyes as dust enveloped them. I saw Tyrantrum's silhouette get up and looked around, trying to find Machamp, wherever he had hidden himself in the dust cloud.

"Now, Machamp!" Blue shouted as the dust finally started to settle.

Machamp shot forward with the second half of Dual Chop. Tyrantrum didn't even make a noise as it fell and when the dirt cloud was finally cleared, I saw that he wasn't getting up.

Machamp stood victoriously over him, scoffing at the larger pokemon. _"Don't insult my teammates again,"_ he demanded just before Tyrantrum disappeared into his pokeball.

 _"That has got to be the strongest Machamp we have ever seen!"_ Two exclaimed, surprised.

 _"I can't believe he stopped a Head Smash just like that!"_ One replied.

I chuckled since I already knew that Machamp was extremely strong. If he could beat Snorlax in an arm wrestle over the last sitrus berry, he was most certainly one of the physically strongest pokemon out there.

Diantha paused a moment, clearly trying to decide which pokemon to use. She smiled as she reached for her third pokeball. "Gardevoir, my star!" she said.

I saw the pokemon appeared in a flurry of white and green before she turned to face Machamp, giving the slightest nod towards him. _"I saw what happened with Tyrantrum. Please excuse his temper,"_ she said calmly.

Machamp huffed. _"When we see him next, I want an apology from him,"_ he told her as he got back in front of Blue.

She gave him another nod. _"I will ensure it happens."_

Then I noticed the gem that was around her neck and I watched as Diantha placed her hand over her key stone. "Gardevoir, mega evolve!" she said.

Gardevoir rose both arms to her own gem and her body was suddenly enveloped in an array of color. It only took a few seconds, but watching her body shift from her final evolved state to one beyond that was amazing and I knew I wasn't the only one admiring the sight—half the stadium had gone quiet with the sight they hadn't seen before. When the glow faded, Gardevoir looked similar to before and even from my spot in Red's lap, I could sense her sudden increase in power.

Blue was staring at the newly mega-evolved Gardevoir with amazement until he suddenly grinned, his teeth flashing as he said, "This is where the fun begins."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Nate's Darmanitan didn't go into Zen Mode during the battle because he has the _Sheer Force_ ability instead.  
> -Dawn's Staraptor has the _Reckless_ ability, which is why he didn't last as long as Empoleon or Leafeon.  
> -Nate's Bouffalant also has the _Reckless_ ability.  
> -Dawn's Leafeon was only that fast because of Sunny Day and her ability _Chlorophyll_.  
> -I one-shot Diantha's Hawlucha in Pokemon X with my jolteon, Gaga, so I made that happen in the fic :)


End file.
